Wishing Upon A Shooting Star
by starlightsurprise
Summary: Harry is mourning his loss of godfather and his memories from the battle when a shooting star hits him, taking him to the time Hogwarts when the Marauders where there. How can Harry face his parents and Sirius and not warn them of their grim future?
1. Collision

Author's Note: This has been revised from the original chapter and should hopefully be better grammatically and in context.

Chapter One: Collision

Harry was sitting on his bed at number Four Privet Drive staring through the open window at a cloudless sky, his hands absentmindedly fiddling with the pen knife Sirius had given him for Christmas. Hermione repaired it for him, after the trip to the ministry. One may say he was staring through the vast blue. He did that a lot lately, ever since Sirius had died. It was as though a part of him had never left the Department of Mysteries, as though a part of him had died with Sirius.

Sirius, the Prophecy were the only things which plagued his thoughts and dreams. Outside, a cheery laugh rippled through the air. Anything beyond the inch thick walls which surrounded him was another world away. It was a world of childish laughter and gay innocence; a world in which Harry had no place in.

The Prophecy, his future and his destiny had been written out and laid down brick by brick before he was even born. A one way path where there was no hiding or other alternative.

_Choices. _Harry gave a shallow laugh as he remembered Dumbledore's speeches on choices. _"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, for more than our abilities." _Only now did he realise how hypocritical Dumbledore had been. Harry had never been given the chance to choose in his life. If it wasn't for this _power he knew not off, _Harry would not be alive, and Dumbledore knew that. Still, he led Harry down a winding life of danger, intent on him to never find out just why his life was constantly shadowed by darkness and the loss of innocence.

There had been a point in time where a flare of fury ignited at the very mention of his headmaster, but now Harry was past being angry. From his very first encounter with Voldemort, a small part of him, a little voice at the edge of his mind, already knew that one day, there'd be a final ending. There would a last ultimate conclusion in which only one of them would rise again.

Now this little voice was brought to reality, seeming so much scarier and impossible.

Harry remembered the first time he had seen Snuffles when he was thirteen and had blown up his aunt. He remembered how he discovered the truth in the Shrieking Shack. Another wave of guilt passed through him when Harry also remembered how he had been prepared to kill Black. Sirius had sacrificed so much for Harry. He had lived in the mountains as a dog, been trapped in a house of terrible memories, risked his life, faced the dangers of capture and in return Harry had taken his life.

There had been so much Harry had yet to learn about his godfather. Drowning in his guilt, Harry hated himself for giving into his curiosity to find out what was behind that plain black door. Dumbledore, Sirius, Remus, Snape and Hermione had all warned him to practise Occlumency, but he had paid no heed. Now, it was too late to say goodbye, to late turn back and say sorry.

Harry sighed and it was then did he notice a light, like a piece of burning rock, high in the sky. It loomed closer and closer, heading right at him. Realising what was about to happen, he made to jump out the way, but it was too late. The orb of fire hit him straight on forcing him backwards. There was a blinding flash of white light and his world dissolved.

Harry could feel someone hitting him in the face. Every bone in his body was aching. _'What has happened? '_ he asked himself. Someone was calling his name: a voice he loved. Harry tried to decipher who it was however, he just couldn't pinpoint it. It was getting louder and louder. The mist and fog in his mind began to clear. Slowly, he opened his eyes to find himself lying on the wooden floor of a long corridor. Harry turned to look at the person who had called him and nearly fainted with shock. There was Sirius, who had been the one calling, Professor Lupin and standing next to him was a replicate of himself.

This twin was just a little taller minus the scar and green eyes. It took Harry less than a heartbeat to figure out who this twin was. The first time he had ever seen him was in a mirror. The mirror of Erised. This twin was his guardian, his protronus: Prongs; his father.

Harry blinked several times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. _'What is going on?' _he asked himself once again.

"Hiya, Harry," Sirius said pulling Harry to his feet. "What are you doing here? Why were you unconscious in the middle of a hallway? How come we've never seen you before?"

"Slow down Sirius," Remus said, looking at Harry expectedly.

"Er…," Harry tried to think of something to say. "How do you know my name?" he asked, praying that they did not know his last name or there would be some awkward questions.

James held up Sirius' Christmas gift, which he had been looking at before his unexpected journey. He had not noticed it before, but Hermione had engraved his name on the blade. It read: _Harry._ Harry mentally thanked Hermione that she had not put his last name on it.

Questions upon questions ran by him. What was he doing here? How did he get here? What was he going to do? Why? _'Nobody's suppose to change time, nobody! Awful things have happened, loads of them end up killing their past or future selves with mistakes!' _Hermione's warning rang clear. What now? Harry stared silently at the ground, lost in a knot of confusion and hurt with the loss of Sirius still so raw, Harry was almost afraid to be around him.

"Still here with us?" James joked, seizing his attention.

"Oh… yeah… err…" Harry stuttered. "I need to see Professor Dumbledore, urgently."

The Marauders looked at each other, confused. James simply shrugged. "Okay, we'll take you to his office."

"Thanks." Harry smiled gratefully.

"No Problem."

Harry focused his attention onto the floor as they trekked up to the Headmaster's office. He ignored the random conversations which struck up every so often, relieved he was not asked to participate. There was such an entangled spaghetti of thoughts inside him, he probably would have blurted out something unexplainable, suspicious and potentially devastating.

"You need a password to get in," Remus informed Harry upon arrival.

"Do you know it?" Harry asked anxiously; he had too see Dumbledore now.

"Off course," Sirius enlightened him with a chuckle. Harry let out a sigh of relief. "We're not known as the marauders for nothing, you know."

"Marauders?" Harry asked, feigning bewilderment.

"That's us, and our other mate, Peter." Harry felt a flame enlighten inside of him. Anger filled his body. The traitor: Peter Pettigrew; the reason of his parents' death, Voldemort's return, Cedric and Sirius' death.

"What's the password then?" Harry prompted, stopping that train of thought.

"Chocolate Frogs," Sirius told him, proudly.

"Okay, thanks a lot you guys." Harry turned to the stone gargoyle. He muttered the password under his breath and stepped onto the spiralling staircase, delivering him to the great oak door.

Before he could knock, the door swung open, and behind his desk, sat Albus Dumbledore himself, as though expecting Harry.

"Good Afternoon. I don't believe I have seen you before. Please, take a seat."

It was as though strangers came lurking out of the blue into his office on a daily basis.

"I'm Harry Potter, sir. I think I've travelled from the future," A rush of words and panic escaped him.

"I see," Dumbledore muttered to himself more than to Harry. "Am I right in presuming that you are related to James Potter?"

"Yes, he's my dad, and Lily Evans is my mother. How did you guess?" Harry asked more for the sake of it than for the answer.

"You look remarkably like him. What year have you come from, Harry?"

"1996." Harry looked to the ground as the distressed sorrow of recent events of his own time, mixed in with disarray of the present threatened to overwhelm him. His heart had already been slashed by the loss of his closest family. Still bleeding, Harry did not know whether he could go through everything yet again. Once more, to see them and say goodbye; having this diamond chance grasped away form him when he was so close yet so far away.

"Well, it's presently 1976. I wonder. Do you know whether you have been sent for any specific reason?" Dumbledore questioned, "Time travel most frequently occurs when wizards or witches have an unaccomplished task to complete," the old wizard continued.

"I don't think so," Harry said slowly thinking back. "The last thing I remember is this fiery light rushing towards me and then James, Sirius, and Remus found me in the corridors."

Dumbledore sat up a little straighter at this. "Have you told them anything or who you are?"

Harry shook his head.

The headmaster visibly relaxed. "Good, that will have caused some rather troublesome complications. You don't have any idea who may have sent you back, or how?"

"No, sir."

"Hmm." Dumbledore gazed pensively at Harry.

"Sir, couldn't I use a Time Turner to return?" Harry suggested.

"I am afraid a Time Turner can only visit a time which has already passed. A Time Turner also works in a loop; only if you do use a time turner to return to past can you can use one to return to the present.

Time, is a very mysterious subject. Very little is understood about it and it is very dangerous to be tampering with. I will ponder the subject for you. For the meantime, it is best for you to remain at Hogwarts. You can pose as a new student from Merlin's School of Wizardry in Southern Wales. You are a sixth year?"

"Yes, I'm in Gryffindor."

"You will be in the same year and House as your parents. I ask you not to reveal anything about the future to anyone, as it is very risky, least of all to your mother and father. You will, of course, have to change your surname."

"Err." Harry tried to think of a name. "Harry Granger", he finally decided.

"Now, Harry Granger, what subjects will you be taking?"

Harry wondered for a minute. He had not yet received his O.W.L. results yet, but he knew what he wanted, or needed, to take to become an Auror. _"If I live that long,"_ a sarcastic voice in his mind interrupted.

"Harry?" Professor Dumbledore prompted, after a few minutes of silence.

"Sorry, sir," Harry said hastily. "Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions and Herbology."

"Very well, you will find everything you need in your dormitory."

"Thank you, sir."

"I hope you will enjoy your stay here and try not to reveal anything about the future or harbour suspicions towards yourself. If you ever need to talk, or have any questions, my office door is always open."

Meanwhile, during the meeting Harry was having with Dumbledore, James, Sirius and Remus had met up with Peter and told him of the strange boy they had encountered.

"He seemed to be hiding something. What do you think, Moony?" Sirius commented.

"Yeah," Remus agreed, "he avoided looking us in the eyes all the while, but don't pressure him. He is entitled to his own privacy, you know," he cautioned.

"Me!" Sirius exclaimed in mock insult. "I don't believe you, Moony. Would old Padfoot do that?" They all laughed and momentarily forgot about Harry.

Harry left Dumbledore's office feeling happy and light-hearted; he was going to see his parents and Sirius again. He did not have to say goodbye, yet. Then, an unpleasant thought escaped into Harry's mind: how was he going to face them and not tell them anything about their grim futures? Suddenly, Harry was not looking forward to seeing them at all.

Author's Note: Thanks to my beta reader Death Hawk for all hard work, time and patience.


	2. Lily

**Author's Note: **Hello, I'm re-editing all my previous chapters and combining some so the chapter numbers might not match up all the time. The new version should be much better in content and grammatically. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy.

**Chapter Two: Lily**

A string of _what ifs_ ran through Harry's mind. What if Wormtail had already turned to the dark side? What if his father rejected him? What if he hurt them? What if something went wrong? Could he just sit there in his confusion and let something happen simple because he wasn't supposed to be here in this place, at this time.

Voldemort was at his strongest point in history. What if he found out Harry was here? What if Voldemort came looking for him? What if, again, someone else got hurt?

Harry didn't know and he wasn't sure he wanted to know all the answers.

This one was something he had only dared to dream of, a chance to meet and get to know his parents, even after finding out in his third year time travel was possible. It was a secret wish he had harboured for years. Harry always knew coming face to face with something was a lot different from actually saying or doing it but this confusion of fear and happiness was something Harry didn't know how to control.

He was scared he would wake up to find this was nothing but a wistful dream, that he was going to wait up any minute, back into his world of depression and disappointment.

Harry was terrified James, Lily, Sirius and Remus turned their backs on him. After all, they had a strong friendship going, why would they want Harry to intrude upon it? Strands of Snape's memories bit into these thoughts. If put to the test, would he contradict his father and godfather, or would he do what Remus did and pretend not to see what was going on? Or would he just go along with it, laughing. Harry, himself, had once been bullied and knew first hand the humiliation and embarrassment felt by the victim; could he bring himself to inflict that hurt on someone else simply to please his father?

Harry was so absorbed in his own thoughts he didn't notice someone with bright red hair come around the corner and promptly walked straight into her.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you there," he mumbled not realising who he was talking to.

"That's alright. What's your name? I haven't seen you around here."

Harry looked up to the speaker and saw vivid emerald eyes. They were the exact copy of his own. He gasped in surprise. "Oh, I'm Harry." He recovered himself. His mind was racing; _this is my dead mother I'm talking to,_ "I'm new. I just got here," he grabbled on, hardly knowing what babble was issuing form his mouth.

"Well, welcome to Hogwarts. I'm sure you'll have a great time here. By the way, what year and House are you in?"

"Gryffindor, and I'm in sixth year," Harry answered mechanically, still in shock.

"Brilliant, I'm one of Gryffindor's prefects, so if you need any help, just ask me. Also, I'm Lily Evans."

"Hello, and thanks," Harry answered numbly. He smiled to himself. _This wasn't too bad._ A light bulb flashed in Harry's mind followed by a very Slytherin thought. Seeing he wasn't suppose to know his way round Hogwarts, he could easily ask her to guide him to Gryffindor tower and that way he'll get to spend more time with her as well.

"Er, could you show me the way to Gryffindor tower, if you've got time," he quickly added on.

"Sure," she replied happily. "Follow me," she turned and started walking the way she had just came. "What school have you come from?"

"Merlin's School of Wizardry, it's in Wales." Harry repeated what Dumbledore had told him.

"Was it nice there?" Lily asked friendly.

"It was okay," Harry improvised. "It isn't half as big as Hogwarts though."

"So, why have you decided to come to Hogwarts instead?"

"Oh." Harry fumbled for an answer. "My parents thought it would be a good change, and it's a lot closer to where I live." Harry's mind began to wonder.

Not for the first time, Harry questioned what it might have been like if Voldemort had not killed his family. What jobs would they have had? Where would he be living? Would Sirius have died, Cedric? Would Wormtail be where he belonged; in Azkaban. Would James have taught him how to ride a broomstick, play pranks? Would Lily have read him bedtime stories and comfort him when he awoke from a nightmare?

"Are they like us?" Lily interrupted his musings, "you know, a witch and wizard."

"Yes," Harry replied wistfully, "what about your family?"

"Well, I'm Muggleborn, but my parents are very supportive. I wish my sister could be better though," she sighed as an afterthought.

"Is she a witch then?" Harry enquired, despite knowing the answer; he did have an act to keep up.

"No, Petunia is a Muggle. Do you have any brothers or sisters then?"

"No, I don't, but I do see a lot of my cousin in the holidays though," Harry said. _Not that you can call Dudley a cousin. Actually, the less I see of him, the better, _he grimaced to himself.

"What?" Lily asked seeing Harry's expression.

"Oh!" Harry said, surprised. He had not thought that his face had betrayed his thoughts. "It's just that we don't get along very well."

"That doesn't matter," Lily remarked in such a tone which surprised Harry. It was as though she was scolding him. "Family's important even though Petunia, hates me. I try to get along with her. It is even important now were in a middle of a war against You-Know-Who."

_Oh Great! _Harry thought _I've met my mum for hardly five minutes and I've already annoyed her._ Harry found his imagination wandering again. Would he have known Dudley, the Dursley, or would Lily have kept him away from them?

"What are the teachers and lessons like here?" he asked, moving the painful subject of family away. It was the fact he did not have any.

"The lessons here are great," She brightened immediately. "I especially like Charms. Professor Flitwickthe teacher, is fantastic. Transfiguration is good as well. Professor McGonagall is also the head of our house. She's strict, but reasonable. What's your favourite lesson?"

"Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Yeah, that's a good lesson, but most of us think the position is jinxed; we haven't had a teacher who's lasted longer than a year. The last one was utterly incompetent."

"Did he demonstrate a duel and drop his wand?" Harry thought back to Gilderoy Lockhart.

"No," Lily laughed, "the only subject she could teach was vampires. She was quite convinced Alice, a friend of mine, was a vampire. Careful," she cautioned suddenly.

Harry stopped walking. "Huh?"

She pointed to the next step up. "It's a trick step. There are a couple of them at Hogwarts; you have to remember to jump them."

"Oh, thanks. Are there any other things I should watch out for?"

"Some of the staircases do move about every so often," she warned. "There are some trick doors and you should watch out for Peeves."

"Peeves?" Harry faked.

"He's a poltergeist. Apart from that, Hogwarts is probably the safest place in Britain."

Harry suppressed a laugh. He couldn't help but think there was a giant sleeping basilisk somewhere.

"Harry, you're not related to a James Potter by any chance?" Lily asked suddenly.

Harry heart missed a beat. "No, why?"

Lily shook her head. "Nothing, it's just you just look a lot another student in our year."

"Really?"

"Yeah," replied Lily "you could almost be his twin, besides he's a little taller with hazel eyes."

"Well," Harry shrugged, adopting a surprised expression, "as far as I know I'm not related to any Potters. Must be some odd coincidence."

They stopped in front of the Fat Lady, sealing the entrance to Gryffindor common room and tower.

"Here we are. We need a password to get in and it changes every month. The current one is _boggart," _she informed him as the portrait swung open and they climbed through into the busy room beyond.

Harry looked around quickly and spotted immediately where Sirius, James, Remus and Peter were. James and Sirius had there backs turned against him, but Harry could not mistake them anywhere. Sirius was laughing at something James had just said. A mixture of hate, grief and guilt rose in him and he knew now---there was no way he could face them.

He had just had his very first conversation with his mother, and now, faced with his once dead father, godfather and their murderer, Harry doubted he would be able to keep his promise to Dumbledore and not act rashly. His fingers itched to grab his wand and curse Peter.

"They'll be your class mates.," She pointed to the Marauders. "They're the worst troublemakers to have set foot in Hogwarts, so I warn you to be careful around them. Come on. I'll introduce you." She set off, but then realised that Harry was stationary. She turned around and gave him a reassuring look. "Come on, they won't bite," she teased lightly, grinning. Her emeralds eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Oh! It's just I'm really tired. I can meet them tomorrow, and I promised my mum I'll write as soon as I got here," Harry lied desperately.

She looked sceptical but soon recovered herself. "Well, okay, I'll just show you to your dormitory and leave you to settle down."

"Thanks." Harry smiled gratefully.

"Are you alright?" Lily asked concerned. "You're very pale."

"I'm fine," Harry reassured her.

"Well," Lily said undecidedly, "see you later."

"Yeah, see you later, and thanks."

**A/N: ** Hope you like and please review. Special thanks to Death Hawk for beta reading this.


	3. The Marauders

**Author's Note: **This has been re-edited. Hope you like.

**Disclaimer: ** Harry Potter in no way belongs to me.

**Chapter Three: The Marauders **

As soon as Harry was alone, he flung himself onto his bed, releasing a sigh filled with mixed emotions. Turning over so he was lying on his back, Harry ran a hand over his face, his mind running down the long list of twisted feelings and thoughts he was slowly drowning in.

The main and uttermost complicated problem was Sirius and his dad. Yes, he wanted to see them again, he had been longing for an occasion like this since he could remember and there wasn't much Harry wouldn't give for this chance to form a relationship and gather an understanding about his family. It had been a fantastic experience meeting his mother, Lily. During the five minute walk to Gryffindor tower he learnt so much about her. She was bubbly, fun, easy to be round but not overly so. She knew and understood the delicacy of life, what's important and to be serious about things.

Now that Harry finally met his mother, began to draw a perception of her person, it hurt more than ever that he never got to grow up around her. She had given up his life for him, her son. Harry couldn't help but speculate how life could have been for him.

Harry roughly brushed away those childish dreams, focussing his attention to a much more pressing matter. How could he be with Sirius and his father, hear them talk and laugh and yet not tell them or warn them about what's going to happen? How could he stay, sleep in the same room with the traitor and not say a word? How could he, Harry, pretend not to know, when so much of the hurt in his life had been because of Pettigrew and his cowardice?

Harry had no idea.

Shaking his head in attempt to clear his mind, Harry got out of bed and investigated the trunk Dumbledore had provided. Folded neatly inside were his school uniform of robes, outdoor cloaks, and any other essentials he was likely to need. There were some casual day wear, books, parchment, quills and other school related necessities. Everything was new and neatly arranged. It could have been anyone's.

Luckily, Harry still had his own wand, which he had made the habit of carrying it everywhere with him. Looking back at his life, it wasn't as though anyone could have blamed him for his paranoia.

Changing into some dark blue pyjamas, Harry pulled down the hangings of his bed and lay down, stuffing his wand under his pillow. He felt secure knowing it was near. Enclosed in the darken place he let his eyes rest as tiredness prevailed over him. The energy drained through him like sand going through a sieve and let the stillness of the room conquer his consciousness.

Sometime later, the door creaked and Harry snapped his eyes open, instantly awake. He had always been a light sleeper, but ever since the battle in the Department of Mysteries, he was aware of the slightest noise, movement or light. Silently, he fumbled for his wand, and gripping it tightly, he listened. Next, a familiar, cheery voice rippled through the room. The voice was different from the record in Harry's memory but the underlying sound was the same. Harry's heart clenched to hear it.

"So Prongs," Sirius Black said "have you got everything ready for tomorrow?" Harry felt eyes swivel towards the drawn curtains concealing his resting self. "Aah, so this the new kid Lily was going about."

"Must be," said a voice Harry first heard in the presence of dementors. It belonged to the person who had tried to hold of one of the darkest wizards in time in attempt to give his wife and son time to escape. "I wonder what he's like. Do you think he'll give us a little extra fun by destroying out enemy's life, or is he going to be like our friend, Moony, here?"

"Hey!" a much more mature voice protested. "I do more than my share of work as a Marauder and troublemaker. I just make sure it does not affect my school work. Give the guy a break; you haven't even met him for more than a few seconds."

"We'll find out soon enough," Sirius replied.

"Sirius!" Remus chided, though there was something in the way he said it which made it apparent he knew full well his comment was washed aside. "You just can't wake him, you know."

"It's only gone seven, Moony, come on," Sirius tried to reason.

"Sirius," Remus cautioned.

"Prongs?" Sirius turned to James for support.

James just laughed, and Harry, still hidden from view, felt a sense of longing. He felt hot pricks gathering in the back of his eyes. "I'm game," came a forth voice; the squeak of a traitor.

Harry felt as though a match had struck inside him. Hot anger welled, coursing through his veins as the flames rose. It was so obvious, Harry thought. Why didn't anyone else see Peter's willingness to abide those around him, not giving a moment of consideration on what he was doing and who he may be harming?

"Well, two can play at a game," Harry snarled silently, tightening his grip on his wand. A shadow of a hand had gripped the curtains before he quickly shut his eyes. He felt people crowd around him, and the perfect curse slid into his mind. He grinned inwardly to himself and silently thanked Hermione. He heard a rustle and someone, no, two people, edge closer. A finger poked him softly in the chest, then, again, harder.

"Shall we go for it together then?" The anticipation was evident in Peter's voice.

"One, two..."

Before he could say three, Harry had sat up so quickly they jumped back in surprise. In the same split second, Harry raised his wand and shouted, "_AGUAMENTI_!" A jet of icy water exploded out of the tip of Harry's wand, drenching Peter in it.

Freezing liquid rained down on the squealing boy, who slipped and tumbled onto the floor as he attempted to free himself from the spout.

After a few moments, Harry seemed to have collected himself from the shock of being crept up on during his sleep and gave his wand a quick wave, stemming the flow. He turned to looking sheepishly at Remus, Sirius and James. "Er…Hi?"

Harry blushed. His heart was racing and his mind went in to overdrive, swarmed by the mass of worries and questions which were flooding his mind. What should he do? How should he act? What if they suspected something? What if they turned against him for attacking their friend?

An awkward silence settled as Harry stared at the Marauders, particularly James, and they stared back at him. Harry willed for someone to break the awkward silence, the atmosphere between could have been sliced with a knife. Harry did not know how long it was until Remus finally spoke.

"Er…Hi," his voice gained confidence as he spoke. "I'm Remus Lupin, and these are my friends. Sorry about waking you up like that."

Harry relaxed and was glad the tension was broke. "Hi, I'm Harry Granger, and I'm sorry too about the water. It was kind of a shock to wake up to several people surrounding you. I didn't expect to be ganged up on whilst I'm asleep and thought I as going to be attacked," he added looking pointedly at Pettigrew. He hoped his explanation made sense; his muddled and panicky mind was having trouble stringing words together.

"Yeah, sorry," James said apprehensively. "I'm James Potter, by the way," he introduced himself, "and he's Peter Pettigrew," he added pointing to the boy Harry had just drenched.

Next, Sirius stepped forward and extended a hand. "Sirius Black, at your service."

"Nice to meet you." Harry tried to hold back a laugh as he shook hands with Sirius. All his concerns and worries slowly leaked away as the course of the present time flowed along by itself. His father and his friends were perfectly relaxed around him, and he didn't have to really pretend and act that much either.

"Delighted to meet you, Mr. Granger," said Sirius, mimicking a posh voice so fake, making everyone else laugh harder.

"I think that's a bit over the top Padfoot," Remus chuckled. "Here, _scourgify._" He waved his wand over at Peter and the water vanished.

"Sorry about that, Peter, is it?" Harry felt his blood boil; after meeting his parents and finally learning what they were like, it was even harder for him not to blow his cover with the rat.

Harry now acknowledged exactly what he lost the night Peter sealed his parent's fate. Years of love, mirth, safety, family comfort and reassurance had been vanquished by him. James and Lily trusted Peter with their lives and he abused that trust. Harry could never imagine selling out Hermione, Ron or any of the Weasleys and he knew clearly Hermione and Ron would willingly die for him. It had been proven on innumerable occasions. Harry asked himself fruitlessly, how anyone could ever turn their back on such a strong bond of friendship, love and trust?

Pettigrew had saw a reason to; a reason strong enough to sign his best friends death warrant. Harry presently felt that having to act civil to Peter was a task harder than facing Voldemort.

"Yeah." Peter squirmed nervously. "Just don't do it again, please." Harry couldn't help but notice the way he edged himself behind James for protection.

"As long as you don't sneak up on me again whilst I'm asleep, otherwise I'll curse you to the other side of the world," Harry said coolly, trying to keep his voice as even as possible. Luckily, the Marauders did not notice his struggle or bitter tone.

"What school have you come from, Harry?" Remus asked friendly.

"Merlin's Wizarding School, it's in South Wales," Harry replied.

"What's it like there?" James said, curious.

"It was nice, though not as big as Hogwarts."

"So, Harry," Sirius asked cheerfully, "do you know any good pranks?"

"Sirius," Remus rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"Well." Harry turned his full attention on to him. "My best friend's twin brothers run a joke shop, and when they were still at school, they were in trouble every day. Once, they turned one of the corridors into a swamp." Harry chuckled, remembering not only that, but their flight to escape Umbridge and the fireworks they had provided so Harry could talk to Sirius. No, he told his mind firmly, he did not want to think about that, not now. Letting his mind stray back to painful reminders of what was going to happen to his newly acquaintance friends was not a good idea if he wanted to keep us his presence as Harry Granger.

"Cool," Sirius exclaimed, his eyes illuminating with glee and mischief.

"Brilliant, Harry! I'd love to meet the prank twins someday," James said excitedly,

"but for now, would you like to help us with something we've planned for tomorrow morning?"

"What are you going to do?" Harry asked curiously. He swept aside the Hermione part of his mind, consoling himself. Being with his parents was something he always longed for, and he'd have to redo classes anyhow when he got back. He nervously blocked away the memory of Snape's pensieve; how his father was a bully, how he had humiliated and mocked someone out of pure boredom. Harry could only hope his father had grown out of that stage, he didn't know if he could go along with it like Remus. He didn't know if he could sit aside and watch his father purposely hurt someone and say nothing. Harry knew first hand what it felt like being put on show like a clown for someone else's fun. He had spent the first eleven years of his life undergoing that humiliation.

"Cause havoc and chaos, of course," Sirius said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Harry smiled weakly, his mind far away.

"Be quiet, Padfoot," Remus scolded lightly.

"Well, this is the plan," James informed Harry, shaking him out of his reverie.

Bouts of explosive laughter could soon be heard from the dormitory as their imagination and mischief soared.

Listening and scheming with his family, closet friends and guardian, Harry felt a warm glow illuminate from within him. A light bubble of love and happiness enveloped him, the knowledge of his mother and father's personality, nature and their willingly acceptance of him-- it was something not even Voldemort could destroy.

**A/N:** Please Review. Thanks to Death Hawk for beta-reading this.


	4. The Letter

**Author's Note: **This has been revised and is hopefully much better. Many thanks to all those who have read and reviewed. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter Four: Hope**

Golden rays of light had just peeked over the horizon when Harry awoke the day. Clambering into his clothes, he happily regarded the other sleeping Gryffindors, each submerged in a separate dream world of their own. His previous anxieties had been dissolved after the first acquaintance with them; they were relaxed, carefree and open with their offers of friendship. _This is the first time I've come to Hogwarts not as the boy-who-lived, _Harry mused blissfully, _nobody has a reason to stare at me or whisper as I walk past. _His musings were interrupted by a loud groan from the bed at the far end; it seemed that Remus had woken up. "Morning," Harry greeted him brightly, his voice light and cheerful.

Contrary to Harry's high spirits, Remus mumbled a sleepy reply, "What time is it?"

"Just gone half-six," Harry answered his grin widening.

"I think I'll go back to sleep. Good Night," he replied his words slurred, burrowing under the covers into the warm darkness. Harry had to wok hard to stop himself from chuckling; he could not imagine this teenage boy becoming his future professor.

Still pondering over that thought, he headed down to the deserted common room sitting down in one of the many armchairs. Staring out of the window, Harry watched Hagrid tend to his garden in the grounds below which were covered in a thin layer of frost, bequeathing a crystallized glaze to the scenery.

Suddenly, a hooting noise interrupted him and Harry jumped to see an owl flapping outside, demanding to get in. Confused, Harry opened the window, wasn't mail delivered at breakfast? He was even more surprised when it stuck out his leg, giving Harry the clear request to untie the letter attached. Wondering whose owl it was, Harry obliged its wishes and was stunned to find it addressed to him. Looking back up to see whether the owl bore him anymore clues, Harry found it had already taken flight back out of the window, now a small silhouette disappearing into the sunrise.

Perplexed, Harry opened the letter which bore only one sentence written in cursive handwriting in fine gold ink:

_You have five weeks to achieve your heart's biggest desire;_

_use the time well and you will succeed otherwise not only you will hurt._

Harry frowned in bewilderment, what on earth was it going on about? _His greatest desire? _What did it all mean? He flipped the letter over, searching for any hint where it may have come from when without warning it burst into flames. Harry yelped startled, immediately releasing his hold on. Orange flames flickered on the floor till the whole letter had disappeared. Shaken, Harry stared at the spot where the letter had been, now empty. Not even a scorch mark, a particle of ash was to be seen; there was not a sign that there ever was such a note.

Sitting down, Harry tried to figure out what it all meant. The first bit made sense, it seemed that he only had five weeks of time here, at the thought, he felt a pang of sadness but decided he could worry about that later. Now the next bit, _your hearts greatest desire?_ Now what did that mean? What he wanted most? Well, he thought, that was easy, the thing he wanted most. He wanted Sirius back, more than anything in the world. But…was it possible, he dared not to believe so. But then again, he argued with himself, he had never thought it to be possible for him to see his parents again, but wasn't that what he was doing now? Maybe there was a glimmer of hope.

Trying to contain his excitement Harry recalled the last sentence of the short note_, use the time well and you will succeed otherwise not only you will hurt, _the last bit was not reassuring at all. It was a two way road he mused, succeed and be happy or fail and not only hurt yourself but others as well. Well, he decided determined, this was a game he was not going to lose.

Harry wasted no time, if he was going to get Sirius, not a minute of this precious month was to be wasted. Deciding the library would be the best place to start researching and finding out exactly what the black veil was and what it did, Harry immediately headed out of the common room, his plans with the marauders at breakfast washed away with the possibility of saving Sirius.

Upon entering the quiet room of the library, Harry wondered where he would find information on the black veil. He thought of asking Madam Prince, the librarian, but instantly dismissed the idea, it would arouse surplus superstitions. Wondering over to the section of books on dark arts, Harry began browsing through the shelves every so often pulling off random books. Once he had collected a good selection, he sat down at an empty table in the corner and started his research, fervently wishing Hermione was here to help fore she would fly through the books dozens by dozens.

He spent the next hour skimming through the texts and his patient was diminishing, it was not until he was on his sixth book did Harry come across a mention of the black veil.

_The black veil is a mysterious object which holds the legend to possess powers with the ability to transport people through long periods of time. It is believed with a certain incantation; you could be transported at a speed faster than light to your desired destination. There is no evidence that this is true or such an incantation exists. The veil is currently pending investigation and study at the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic, London._

The short paragraph did not tell him much, but it offered the silver lining of every cloud. It gave Harry the loophole he had spent so long in the summer looking for; a reason why Sirius may not have fell to his death when he passed through the veil. Sirius had not said the spell beforehand meaning he was trapped in the veil, but if he, Harry, could find the incantation, he could go in and pull Sirius back out. There was no certainty his theory would work but it offered hope. Encouraged and motivated by that, Harry continued his research, never looking up form his books till the marauders tumbled in bearing an expression of annoyance.

"Harry! Where were you at breakfast?" Sirius confronted him, sitting down opposite with his arms crossed with a look of defiance.

Harry jumped, startled "Oh! Sirius, sorry I didn't see you there. What did you say?"

"I said where was you at breakfast?" he pronounced each word slowly and they were filled with irritation.

"Breakfast?" Harry echoed frowning, his eyes narrowed, and then remembrance dawned upon him, "Oh!" Harry gasped, hitting is forehead with his hand. "I completely forgot. Sorry guys," Harry said in a rush, "did you do it?"

It was James who answered, "No, but we can tomorrow. What have you been doing all morning?" he asked, genuinely intrigued at what Harry been up to for the pass two hours.

"Nothing much," Harry answered as honestly as he could, "I woke up early and was bored so I came down to the library."

"And you were having such a great time in the library you forgot?" Sirius rolled his eyes, his words dripping with sarcasm.

Harry was slightly stunned by this, maybe he had just forgotten how childish Sirius could be, but luckily Remus came to his rescue, "There's nothing wrong with the library and reading Sirius, besides this is Harry's first day, it's not surprising if he gets confused."

Harry shook his head and smiled thankfully at Remus, "I'm sorry, it just completely slipped my mind, I promise not to forget next time."

"That's okay," James replied cheerily. "So are we on for tomorrow then?"

"Definitely."

"Well, we better get going," Remus looked at his watch, "classes start in ten minutes."

As they filled out the library, Harry made a mental note to try to improve his relation with Sirius. It wasn't too surprising he forgot, he compromised with himself, especially with the excitement from prospect of seeing Sirius back again in his own time. Harry did not need Trelawney's inner eye or crystal ball to foresee there would be a lot of problems with Sirius if he spent all his time in the library and had no adequate explanation for his extra research. He, of course, could not tell them the real reason.

Harry could just imagine how well that conversation will go over him, _"Sorry Sirius but the reason I'm reading so much is cause your dead and I'm trying to find a way to save you." _Harry suppressed a laugh at their reactions and debated with himself whether they'll call in St Mungo and they'll lock him in on the forth floor, where he had previously met memory less Lockhart. That led to the thread of thought that even if it was discovered that he was a time traveller, would anyone believe him? Harry did not think Dumbledore would be best pleased if he tried to find out.

The best he could do, Harry reasoned with himself as he took his seat in transfiguration, was to split his time as equally as possible between the marauders, Lily, he smiled and gave her a small wave as she entered the room, and his work on the Black Veil. Merlin, he thought, this was not going to be an easy four weeks as he turned his rapt attention to Professor McGonagall, who was writing something on the board.

From conjuring quills in transfiguration to enlarging pillows in charms followed by the draught of living peace in potions the day passed by quickly. Though Harry knew he would be repeating the same lessons when he started his sixth year in September 2006, he tried his hardest to fulfil a newly grown thirst and desire to prove himself to his mother and father.

Potions went much more smoothly than Harry had ever experience, the lack of Professor's Snape presence contributing a lot to this, Harry discovered he was quite an ample potions brewer when given the chance. The marauders had complained to Harry about her bias favouritism to her own house Slytherin, he did not get a chance to see this first hand as his class was shared with Hufflepuff.

True to what he had been told by his future teachers and Ollivander, when Harry went to purchase his wand, James and Lily were exceptionally bright, his father acing transfiguration and his mother charms. Harry had yet to experience a class of Defence against the Dark Arts and looking at his record with the teachers who taught the subject, Harry had to wonder whether it had been a wise idea to pick that, disregarding it was the one subject he excelled in.

**A/N:** Thanks to Death Hawk for Beta-reading this.


	5. Breakfast and Mayhem

**Chapter Five: Breakfast and Mayhem **

Lying in the darkness that night, basking in the gentle regular breaths of his sleeping family, Harry reviewed his day and could not prevent the small smile which slipped onto his face. Apart form the little episode in the library that morning, time had passed flawlessly. Being around the marauders guaranteed continuous ecstatic entertainment, James, Remus and Sirius found thrills and laughter in everything. A pang of melancholy and guilt stabbed his heart as the knowledge that this will be coming to an end made its presence known again. As Harry drifted off into the warm embrace of sleep, he vowed that he'd succeed in getting Sirius out of the veil, regardless of what he may have to do.

Harry woke up the next morning with a mission within him. He was set to start his tasks when he remembered his plans with the marauders that morning. He couldn't let them down, not again. He really wanted to get to know his parents; this was his only chance and he wasn't going to waste it. With that thought in his mind, he went about waking the others. Something much easier said than done.

Remus was fine, but James and Sirius was a completely different matter. Many unsuccessful attempts later, the pair decided more drastic methods were needed.

Placing a silencing charm round the room, Harry went to deal with Peter whilst old Mooney had James and Sirius. Grinning mischievously, Harry brought his wand down in a wavy motion before sharply pointing it at traitor and muttered two charms in quick succession. He had sent a jet of ice-cold water and the tickling charm at Peter, who woke up with a start and began giggling uncontrollably. Laughing Harry turned to Remus who gave him the thumbs up and the two of them scooted from the room.

"That was good."

"I know," Remus replied, breathless from all the laughing, "water and tickling charm, great one Harry."

"You think we'd better watch out for them now?"

"Nah," Remus shook his head unworriedly. "If they try to do anything we'd just get them back."

Harry nodded, but some part of his mind was telling him there was some spare canary creams in his trunk which he had got from the twins last year. Before he could say anything, the others came down with murderous looks.

"Morning," Remus greeted them brightly.

"Morning?" Sirius snorted, "It's the crack of dawn."

"Well, we do have work to get on with," Remus pointed out, "Got all the stuff Prongs?"

"Yep," he indicated the potion and cloak. "By the way Remus, never let Harry wake me up."

Remus had a mischievous look in his eyes, "That was a very successful combination though. I might try it out a few times myself."

"Mooney, I swear if you try anything like that I'll curse you into next month."

"Well, let's get going. Are we all going to fit into the cloak?" Sirius asked.

"No problem," Harry muttered as he tapped himself with his wand and cast the disillusion charm.

"Wicked," Sirius exclaimed, "How'd you do that?"

"Disillusionment charm," he replied laughing, as Sirius and Peter jumped. "Now you lot can fit under the cloak."

"Yeah, but can you teach us how to do that later?"

"Sure."

"I'll join you Harry," Remus to cast the disillusionment charm on himself. "Now you three won't have worry about bits of you being seen."

Sirius was besides himself, "Mooney, how come you've never told us you knew such a cool charm."

"You've never asked and there never was a need to," Remus shrugged. "Come on, we don't have much time till breakfast."

"Shh," whispered Peter looking nervous, "We don't want to wake anyone up."

James threw the clock over the remaining three visible marauder and they set of towards the kitchen.

In the kitchen, the house-elves were busily setting up breakfast. Harry noticed the elves weren't surprised to see them there. Remus filled Harry in, "We're good friends with the elves, they won't tell on us. In fact, they're more than happy to help."

Harry nodded as James and Sirius joined them again, "Sorted!"

James began giving everyone a portion of the potion and instructions, "Put three drops in each pot of tea, milk, juice, just anything drinkable. Harry you do Slytherins, Mooney Ravenclaw, Peter Gryffindor, Sirius Hufflepuff and I'll do teachers. And be quick, we only have about ten minutes." Excited, everyone set of to do there tasks.

As soon as all the potion was given out they exited the kitchen and began making there way to breakfast. Settling at the end of their table, they began to eat, eagerly waiting to see the results of their morning's work.

It took a while for the trick to show up, meaning more people would become victims of it before anyone realised there was something wrong. It was nearly half an hour when the first results were showing. Up on the staff table. Professor Flitwick's, Sprouts and McGonagall's hair was slowly turning into a colour which reflected their mood. Very soon after, laughter and mayhem filled the room.

Harry laughed helplessly as he watched McGonagall's turn a dangerous red colour which gave the impression that her head was on fire.

"Potter! Black! Pettigrew! Lupin! Granger! MY office Now!"

It was five rather amused Gryffindors which emerged from the transfiguration office 20 minutes later. As soon as they left the corridor behind, all it took was one glance at each other and they collapsed in laughter - it was a lot harder to take McGonagall with bright red hair seriously.

"You should have seen her face," Sirius exclaimed tears falling down his face.

"Lessons are going to be so fun, the potions going last till lunch the very least."

"I'm going to remember McGonagall with red hair for the rest of my life," and they all surrendered to new fits of laughter.

The morning pasted quickly and at lunch, Harry headed to the library. The marauders were still eating, for which he was grateful, one less disruption. Gathering some books, he looked around for a space to sit. There was a free one next to Lily and feeling nervous he approached her. "Erm, hi Lily, can I sit here," he indicated the spare seat.

"Sure," she smiled brightly, "So how are you finding Hogwarts?"

"It's great and so are the people here, especially the Marauders."

"Yeah," she muttered disbelievingly. "Anyway, what are you doing here? I'd thought you'd be with them."

"Well, I've got get some work done, haven't I?"

"Of course," she nodded approvingly before returning to her own work.

They spoke to each other now and then but overall Harry found it a lot harder to get on with his mother than his father. He knew so little about her. He didn't even know what Quidditch team she supported. Not that it mattered. An hour's researching brought Harry no more clues into the black veil or how to get Sirius out of there. He'd even considered skipping class, but decided against it. He didn't need an excuse for another detention.

Not that he learnt thing as Binns droned on in History of Magic and he more or less slept through the haze of the class. Some things just didn't change. Harry had planned to return to the library after dinner, but then James invited him to go and play quidditch with them. This was a chance Harry could not bypass.

"So," James explained to Harry, "Peter is keeper, and you and Sirius are on one team and me and Remus on another. We all play chaser and seeker. No bludgers, no beater but the rest of the rules are the same. Okay?"

"Sounds great." Harry eagerly mounted his broom. Compared to his Firebolt the broom was slow and hard to coordinate but he adjusted to it fairly quickly. Somewhere a whistle blew and the game had started as he tore after James for the quaffle.

After fifteen minutes of playing it became increasing obvious to Harry the only way he and Sirius were going to win was by catching the snitch. They were losing 80 to 20; James was good, really good. Leaving the others Harry flew high into the air and scanned the pitch in search for the small golden snitch. He quickly spotted it, about a foot of the ground under the goalposts and Peter. Turning sharply Harry shot toward it at neck breaking speed. Harry could hear them shouting at him but could not make out what they were saying, his mind completely focussed on the catching the little winged BAL. The snitch swerved to the left and he unhesitatingly followed. Reaching out he felt the delicate wings brush against his hand as he grabbed it before flying back up to join the others, beaming.

They stared at Harry silently. "What?" he exclaimed.

"Where on earth did you learnt to fly like that? It was flipping brilliant," Sirius screamed.

"Really?" Harry could feel himself blushing slightly.

"Definitely, I was sure you were going to crash, but…" he broke of unable to think of a word which would not be an understatement.

"Do you want to join the team then, Gryffindor short of a seeker, Jamsie here is the captain and chaser."

"Really, can I?"

"I'd be mad to say no. We're definite for the cup this year."

"Hey," Remus interrupted their excitement, "what's Evans doing down there?" they all followed Remus' gaze and true enough, Lily was down there saying something they couldn't hear but it was apparent she wanted them to come down.

"Let's see," Harry descended followed by the others.

"Hey Lily, what's wrong?" Harry asked.

"McGonagall wanted me to remind you that you detention starts in ten minutes and if you don't turn up, you're in detention for a month."

"Thanks. Come on you guys lets g…" Remus stopped in mid sentence as an unnatural coldness fell around them. The sky had gone a dark grey and temperatures were diving steeply. Everyone had gone deathly white. As Harry looked frantically from one to another, it was apparent none of them knew what was going but they didn't need to know to know it was not good.

Harry closed his eyes, praying it was all a bad dream. An eerie sound confirmed his fears.

Dementors.


	6. Dementors

**Chapter Six: Dementors and Revelations**

"Dementors," Harry breathed. The temperature had dropped below sub-zero and each breath he drew was an icy mist. Harry willed himself to stay conscious as fog began to overtake his mind. They finally appeared in sight, hundreds of them, gliding over the tops of the Quidditch stand. Harry's mind barely registered the others fall to the ground as the presence of the dementors overwhelmed them. Hurried footsteps could be heard as Professors rushed towards him.

His entire body shaking, Harry aimed his wand at the dementors, shutting his eyes shut as he fought with all his strength to summon every happy memory within him, shouting, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

The familiar stag exploded from the tip of his wand, white light radiating from its shining body showing of every inch of its powerful, elegant body. It raised his head and looked at Harry as if waiting for his instruction. Then, as though it had heard the signal it'd been waiting for, it galloped toward the dementors and began forcing them back like a sheepdog rounding up sheep. Energy was rapidly draining through Harry like water through cupped hands and he barely noticed as Dumbledore's phoenix, McGonagall's lion and various other patronuses join the fight. Though it seemed like forever to Harry, the battle was over in minutes.

It was not until the very last dementor fled out of sight did Harry lower his wand. He swayed on the spot then felt hands catch him as he fell. The air was already warmer, but he was still shaking. He could hear fuzzy voices all around him. Harry blinked repeatedly to clear his mind.

Then out of nowhere, bright green beam came shooting towards them. "LILY!"

With a new burst of adrenaline, Harry threw himself out the arms of whoever was holding him upright and raced towards Lily. Knocking her to the ground, Harry turned just in time to see green light explode before him.

"_Kill the spare," Cedric falling, his lifeless eyes looking up at him. _"No, please no," Harry sobbed. The scene changed, dementors, hundreds of them, closing in on Sirius...Sirius falling through the veil_. _"NO!" Harry sat up in his bed trembling violently, a mixture of sweat and tears stained his face. Unable to lock away his emotions any further, Harry began to cry, letting the tears wash away all the feelings of guilt and grief which had been built up in him since Sirius was gone. "I'm sorry Sirius, I'm sorry. It was all my fault your dead. I'm sorry."

It was nearly twenty minutes before Harry could control himself. Drying his eyes, Harry finally realized he wasn't in Gryffindor tower. He was in a small room sparsely furnished with a bed and table and a door which assumingly led to the bathroom.

"Lily," Harry gasped as his mind caught up with times. Was she okay? Did the death eaters attack the school? Was everybody else okay? He wouldn't be able to bear if somebody else had got hurt cause of him. In a state of almost panic Harry jumped out of bed, swayed dangerously and fell right back in again. Breathing deeply, Harry closed his eyes tightly to stop the room from spinning round. He suddenly felt very dizzy and sick.

Unknown to Harry, Remus Lupin was lying awake in the room next to Harry. They were in Dumbledore's quarters; it was a lot more convenient for him to recover from his transformation in this room rather than the hospital wing.

Harry's screaming had awoken him, and he had heard his cries. He had wondered what he should do. Should he get Dumbledore or go and see what was wrong with Harry himself? But he quickly dismissed both ideas. He knew Harry would not appreciate anyone seeing him so weak and vulnerable. He knew he would not like it at all. So Remus decided to mind his own business.

That did not stop him from puzzling over the strange kid. Harry was the same age as him and the others marauders but sometimes when you looked into his eyes, he seemed so much more older and mature. He had also noticed and odd unreadable expression on Harry whenever he spoke to James and Sirius. Almost despair. And why did Harry look so much like James, it was too much to be a coincidence. And those eyes, they reminded him so strongly about someone but he just couldn't pinpoint who. Not to mention he had just dived in front of the killing curse to save Lily, who he barely knew. For a fleeting second he had seen something in those seas of green, something only his sharp wolf eyes could detect.

He saw guilt and regret in them, as if he couldn't let something happen all over again.

Despite all of this, Remus felt a strong sense of trust towards Harry. It was as if a sixth sense had told him that Harry was there to protect them all, not to harm them. It was odd, but a feeling he couldn't get rid of.

Taking in a deep breath Harry got up again, more slowly this time and cautiously made his way to the door. Upon opening it Harry found himself in a corridor with many doors on it. It was straight forward enough which way to go, for the one direction lead straight to a wall. Shakily, Harry took a step into the hallway just as his legs decided to give way. Just before he hit the floor he felt someone come up behind and catch him. Whoever this was led him back to the room and bed.

"Thanks," he panted.

"It's fine," a familiar voice answered.

Feeling a little out of place Harry looked up and blushed slightly to see Remus. "Oh…hi….sorry about that."

"That's alright, how are you feeling."

"Fine," Harry answered automatically. Remus raised his eyebrows at him but did not comment. "So," Harry continued quickly, "Is Lily okay? Is everybody alright?"

"Everyone's alright," Remus reassured him.

Harry visibly relaxed. There was an awkward silence. Harry looked round, "Umm, so…..can you tell me where I am?"

"We're in Dumbledore's quarters."

"Huh?" Harry did not understand why he was here; he adventures normally landed him in Hospital Wing, "What am I doing here?"

Remus gave him an incredulous look, "You've just encountered dementors, nearly got hit by the killing curse, been unconscious for 3 days, tell me your fine and now you ask what are you doing here? Are you sure you're alright Harry?"

"Three days," Harry gasped.

"Three days, nearly four. Everyone has been really worried."

A strange look passed through Harry. "That stunt you pulled on the Quidditch pitch, it's a miracle you lived. I'm glad you saved Lily and all, but that was incredible stupid thing to do. "

"Umm, what happened, how come I'm still alive?" Harry prayed hard the answer wasn't going to be what he thought.

"That's thanks to Dumbledore. He did something with his wand, got you just out the way by the nick of the second and the curse hit one of the stands instead."

Relief flooded him, it would have been all too strange if it had hit him and once more became the boy-who-lived. He didn't think he could go through that again.

"So Harry," Lupin voice had turned softer and quieter, "Why did you jump in front of Lily. You were prepared to give up your own life for her though you hardly know her."

"Oh," Harry was startled by the question, "Just an act of impulse," he tried to cover up his surprise.

It was obvious he was lying. Then something in his mind clicked. Those eyes, of course, they reminded him of Lily. Only Lily could have those, such deep emerald eyes. A ridiculous thought occurred to him..

"You're Harry Potter, James and Lily's son.

Had Harry not suddenly turned ghost white Remus would have immediately dismissed the idea himself. James and Lily? Ridiculous.

"You really are?" Remus whispered, completely stunned.

"How….how did you know?" Harry asked after a few minutes.

"I don't know," he replied honestly, "I…it was just a thought…I would have never thought…..blimey….you really are? James and Lily? That's….how?"

""Err…."

"You're from the future?"

"Yeaaaah…" Harry answered slowly, his mind panicking. _What was he going to do now? _

"Wow….really? What are you doing here?"

"I...I can't tell you," Harry replied. _How do expect me to tell you anyway? _Harry thought. _I'm here because I killed your best mate._

"Come on," Remus pleaded. This side of Remus surprised Harry until he reminded himself that this was a 16 year old boy, not his professor. "I could help you with it, whatever it is."

"I can't, really, I can't tell you. You do know time travel's illegal and extremely dangerous don't you?"

"Of course."

"So you're not allowed to tell anyone, not even James and Sirius or Lily I'm from the future, okay?"

"They wouldn't tell anyone."

"I know but I can't risk it."

"Alright, okay," Remus sighed. "You have my word as a Marauder and Gryffindor."

"Thanks." Harry paused. "I really really can't risk changing the future - I can't tell you anything that going to happen."

"I suppose," Remus relented, "But are you going to let me what you're doing here though? Does anyone else know?"

"Just Dumbledore, nobody else."

"How far form the future do you come from."

"1996."

"That's about twenty years, isn't it? Wow, why did you come back?"

"Researching," Harry finally said.

"What for?"

"Information," Harry answered vaguely.

"How important is this information. On a scale of one to ten."

"Life and death."

"Really?"

"Yes, whether this person lives or dies depends on how I spend my time here."

"How long have you got?"

"Just under a month now."

"So why don't you let me help you?"

He could do with the help, Harry reasoned with himself, and it'd stop him from asking so many questions, this younger Remus strongly reminded Harry of Hermione. "Oh okay," Harry surrendered, "I need information, any information on the Black Veil. It's stored in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic."

"What were you doing there?"

"I never said I was," Harry said quickly, "So do you still want to help?"

"Of course."

"Thanks." Harry quickly cast around for another subject. "So what happened after the dementors left?"

"Well, everyone was really impressed, even Dumbledore. That was some really cool magic!"

Great, Harry thought bitterly. Somehow, he always ended up drawing attention to himself. "How's Lily?"

"Fine, though it took Madam Pomfrey some time to calm her down. She was convinced you were dead and it was all her fault."

"Nobody else was hurt?"

"No, scared but generally fine."

"Good, good," Harry did not want another death on his hand; he would not be able to live with himself. "What time is it?" Harry asked suddenly.

"It's almost eight in the morning."

"I need to go to the library; I've already wasted a week."

"You've got all day today. It's Saturday. There are no classes, but there is a trip to Hogsmeade scheduled."

"Is there? Well, I still have work to do."

"That's if Madam Pomfrey lets you out of here," Remus added. "She wouldn't be pleased if you walk off without the all clear from her."

"I'm perfectly fine thank you very much."

Remus just chuckled. "I'm off to change; I'll meet you in the entrance hall with the others. If you're going, be there by ten past ten. Okay? And Good Luck with Madam Pomfrey."

"Fine. See you later and have a good time."

As soon as the door closed behind Lupin, Harry started to get dressed, all the while debating with himself. '_Had he done the right thing by letting Remus know? Should he go to Hogsmeade? Should he tell Dumbledore Mooney had found out his little secret? What could he do if the others found out? What were the dementors doing at Hogwarts? What if Hogwarts was attacked again? Why were the students still allowed to go to Hogsmeade?' _

Still occupied by these questions Harry would have walked straight into Madam Pomfrey and the headmaster had the matron's sharp brisk voice had not cut across his thought. "And where do you think you're going young man?"

Harry stared guiltily at her, desperately trying to come up with an excuse. The last thing he needed right now was to be smothered by the well meaning matron.

"Back into your room now!"

Harry looked to Dumbledore for support who simply shrugged and smiled. Harry helplessly obeyed.


	7. A Family Day Out?

**Chapter Seven: A Family Day Out**

It took Harry a good half an hour to persuade the strict matron that he was fine and it was reluctantly she gave him permission to go on the Hogsmeade trip as long as he reported back to her straight after dinner. Harry had a quick discussion with Dumbledore, informing him of his recent finds, though not giving away any details.

"The Black Veil, hmmmm," he pondered in a soft voice. "It is not something I am particularly familiar or knowledgeable about but I shall look into the matter."

"Thank you sir," Harry thanked him gratefully.

"I am please to be of assistance. Also, I must thank you for your actions in the Quidditch stadium; had it not been your quick thinking, the consequence would have been much direr." Harry blushed. Dumbledore continued, "What you did was extremely advanced magic, may I ask how do did you know what to do?"

"Well, in the future, my friends and I were sought by many people," Harry carefully worded. "Mainly because of me, but we had to learn more than the average level of magic to protect ourselves."

"And who was against you and why?"

Harry couldn't suppress a chuckle at that. "Are you asking about people who just hate me, those who want me dead or those who have tried to kill me?" Dumbledore for a moment looked startled. "You see sir," Harry clarified, "In the future we found ourselves opposite sides of a war."

"Has the situation turned so grave that children are to fight in a war?" Dumbledore asked shocked, something Harry had never seen him be.

"Not exactly sir, but I can't explain that, it'd give to many things away."

"That's alright," the headmaster did not seem any happier to hear that but accepted the answer and did not question him further. He turned to leave. "Enjoy your trip to Hogsmeade," he said as he bid him goodbye.

Harry was about to say he wasn't going but he had already left. Harry was still in two minds about the entire thing. It was the chance of a lifetime, but yet... he continued arguing with himself over it as he ate breakfast.

At five past ten, Harry headed toward the entrance of the great hall, promising himself that he would make up for the time later. Besides, he had two people, Dumbledore and Remus, to help him, and if he didn't use this chance to get to know Lily and James better, he would only spend the rest of his life regretting it.

"Hey Harry," voice called out to him. It was Remus.

"Hi," Harry greeted him and the rest of the marauders.

"Glad you could make it," Remus said happily.

"Yeah, so am I. You guys been to Hogsmeade loads of time, what is it like?"

This was the only cue the others needed as they launched into a lengthy discussion about the village, arguing which shop was the better out of Honeydukes and Zonkos. It was cut short as Harry suddenly found himself half-strangled by someone with bright red hair. Lily.

She was half sobbing and half shouting for joy, "Oh, Harry I'm so glad your alright. I thought you were dead."

"Hey Lily," Harry cut her off. "I'm fine but will you please let go before you strangle me."

"Oh," letting go immediately "Sorry Harry," she blushed. "I'm so glad your okay. I was so worried."

"I'm fine, really! " Harry reassured her, "It takes more than that to get rid of me." He smiled. "Are you coming to Hogsmeades?"

"Of course."

"Why don't you come with us?" Remus offered before Harry could.

"Well if you're sure your leader wouldn't object," she said sarcastically looking at James.

"Well, Evans," James retorted back, "If it wasn't for Harry, you wouldn't be on this world now."

"You think you're so great, don't you, Potter," she snapped back. "Well, maybe if your head wasn't so big you'll be able to see how pathetic you really are."

As this 'friendly' argument was taking place, Harry caught Remus' eyes and grinned. Harry could see the disbelief in his eyes and Harry knew he was trying to imagine Lily and James together… without biting each other's head off.

"We should get going," Harry intervened. "At this rate, the shops are going to be closed before we even get there." They both glared at each other but shut up. "Good, now let's go."

The group managed to get through the morning without James and Lily descending into another argument, though they refused to talk to, or stand next to, each other as they showed Harry the various shops and stores.

As they entered The Three Broomsticks for a drink in the early afternoon, Harry's scar gave a painful twinge. "Ouch," he exclaimed clapping hand to the scar.

"What's the matter?" Remus asked him.

"Nothing," Harry quickly answered back worry flooding him, "Just poked my eye," he added slightly distracted.

"Oh, okay," he looked up and saw the others carrying over their drinks. "Here we are, have a butterbeer."

"Thanks," Harry mumbled taking the tankard from James. He looked around warily.

"What are you looking at?" Sirius asked him following his gaze.

"Not much. Is there always this much people in here?" Harry quickly changed the subject.

"The Three Broomsticks is a rather famous place, but it just this packed cause all the students are here today."

"So what else is there to see?" Harry used this opportunity to glance round again. He couldn't rid himself on the uneasy feeling growing inside him.

They had just left the pub when a scream echoed down the street. People stopped, looked, and then panicked. It took seconds for the village to be filled with chaos as dark cloaked figures appeared. On cure, Harry's scar flared up as though a hot white iron has just been pressed upon it. Struggling to breathe and remain standing, he frantically looked left and right to determine what was going on. His vision blurred as the shouting and screaming confused his sense. He felt someone grab him, dragging him away. He was going to be sick.

Suddenly a scream reverberated down the street. Shaking his head, Harry wrenched his wrist out of Remus' an Sirius' grip and ran back down to the streets, his head pounding.. He could hear them shout for him to come back then footsteps as they came tearing after him.

In the several minutes he had been out of it the village had been reduced to an open war zone. Collapsed building littered the ground, many of which still burning. Terrified students huddled in large groups taking refuge in the few shops which remained standing, as shop owners and villagers defended them. Aurors were appearing but not quick enough. Gripping his wand tightly, ignoring the pain in his head, Harry began shouting spells and curses, all the whilst still running knowing this way he would be a harder target to hit.

"STUPEFY!" Harry threw himself to the ground dodging the red beam.

"EXPLELLIARMUS!" Harry yelled back. The death eater was thrown back and crashed into another behind it.

"HARRY!" he heard someone shout. He turned, clambering on to feet to narrowly avoid being hit by a streak of blue light.

"PROTEGO!"

Help arrived as increasing numbers of aurors and teachers arrived.

The death eaters began their retreat once Dumbledore arrived. Even then it was another ten minutes before the battle was over. As the last death eater apparated away, Harry collapsed to the ground. He did not have the energy to move as the adrenaline rush left him. Wearily he watched a sobbing mother cradle her injured child. Shaking, Harry closed his eyes, blocking the scene before him. It was not fair, why? Without warning, his scar burst open. Just as suddenly, the intense pain left, leaving him dizzy and disorientated. He struggled to his feet leaning heavily against a nearby tree. A low moan escaped him as wave of nausea crashed over him and he threw up.

Harry didn't know how much time passed before he gained enough bearing to look round. A sudden though occurred to him; where was Lily and the marauders. Panic rose like bile within him as Harry frantically stumbled through what remained of the village. He saw the professors working hard to help calm the students, healers attend to the injured and aurors rounding up the death eaters who had not managed to apparate out. There was no sign of his parents, Sirius or Remus. The fear and guilt intensified, they had followed his back. _No_, Harry shook his head, fighting hysteria,_ not again, no_.

Harry jumped, falling to the ground as a burst of flame appeared before him. Looking up Harry saw Fawkes. The presence of the magnificent scarlet and gold phoenix immediately calmed him. Reaching out Harry gently stroked the bird who chirped back in delight drawing closer to Harry. Harry tried to fight the blackness as he fell unconscious. .

_He was standing in the darkness. Complete darkness. It was neither warm or cold, silent or noisy. It was just nothingness. _

_Harry looked round but saw nothing. Voldemort was nearby, he felt it but this place, this place, there was something not quite right about it. It didn't feel bad; it didn't feel evil or dangerous. It felt almost as though it was afraid of him. It was a feeling he couldn't describe, but it was as if it wanted to help him. The aura which seemed to have once surrounded the place felt good and light, but it was all shadows of the past, what was there was no longer. _

_Harry took a step forward and suddenly the place came alive. It lighted, and there metres in front of him the most feared person of the wizarding world sitting in what seemed to be a throne, his followers knelt before of him. Seeing all this, Harry thought some sort of light had come on but the room was a dark as ever. The only light that had come on was the one within him. _

_Before he could puzzle on that any longer, Harry saw what he had been looking for. A young teen witch and her three male campanions, sprawled on the ground amongst the cluster of death eaters. Their eyes were closed. Harry felt his heart skip a beat as a masked death eater spoke. "Enervate." _

"_Lily," Harry cried out as she began to awake soon followed by the others. "James, Sirius, Remus." Nobody paid him any attention._

"_So…" Voldemort said as if he was a teacher whohad caught a pupil breaking a rule red-handed. Harry shivered. "So who do we have here? Potter, Lupin, Black and a mudblood. Very disappointing Black," he directed at Sirius. "Associating with the likes of Dumbledore and mudblood, I'll give you one chance to save yourself, Black. Join me."_

"_Never," Sirius spat, "I shall __never__ sink as low as you and your pathetic followers."_

"_Brave, a true Gryffindor I see," Voldemort smirked, apparently amused, "Let's see how brave you are when I kill your friends of, one by one. How about we start with tthe mudblood, pretty isn't she? Anyone special to you?"_

"_Leave her alone," James growled, his fist clenched. _

"_Oh, yours then?__" Voldemort laughed. "Let's see what you can do then shall we? What do you think my loyal followers?" As if they were a programmed, laughter erupted and filled the room which stopped as abruptly as it had started when their leader raised a mere hand. Raising his wand lazily, "Crucio." Painful screams rung in Harry's ear as the scene faded into the distance and he was again alone in the darkness. _

_A white flame appeared. It began to grow and Harry could see in it was a person dressed in white, about half a head shorter than he was. It was as though this person was a glowing light. Whoever it was, looked up but the hood of her clock covered her face. "Go Harry, go and save them." It was a girl, the voice light and hypnotising. _

"_How?" Harry whispered, "I don't even know where they are."_

"_Yes you do Harry, you do."_

"_Who… who are you?" Harry asked. _

"_One day you'll know, Harry. But not now. I promise you, one day you'll know." _

_Before he could say anything else the place dissolved._

Back at the ruins of Hogsmeade, the marauders had only just been noted missing, and in all the confusion so had Harry. Wearily, Harry awoke, opened his eyes to Fawkes. Sitting up, memories of his dream came rushing back to him. Another rush of adrenaline sent Harry to his feet as he began running, Fawkes following closely behind.

He knew where they were.


	8. The Riddle House

Author's Note: Thanks for all reviews. Apologies for the last chapter but I wasn't in one of my best moods, sorry. Also sorry for taking so long to update but I've been busy with a final exam. Not only that but last week my dad's car got smashed to bits and I had to help pick up the pieces _(not literally, just sort out insurance, dvla etc etc.) _Plus that I loaded the wrong chapter last time - thanks to **Magicgirl45852, pandas rule the world, Raspberry Jo and Marguerida **for telling me. So very very sorry and I'll try to update at least once before HBP comes out - on Friday, only five days away, I can't wait. _jumping up and down with excitement ) _Here is a extra long installment just to show you how sorry I really am.

_**Reviews:**_

**Pandas rule the world: **Thanks a lot for pointing out I loaded chapter 8 instead of 14 and for your reviews. You've been a great reader and I love reading your feedback. Hope you continue getting fun from this fic. :-)

**Magicgirl45852: **Thanks a lot for your e-mail informing of my clumsiness. I really enjoy reading what you think about my fanfic and hope you keep doing so. Once again, thanks a million. :-D

**Kel: **Thank You for your reviews - you've been a great reader. Glad you think my story is suspenseful as it means I am doing this right. Hope you keep reading this story and gain plenty of fun from this. )

**Marguerida / Raspberry Jo: **Million thanks for pointing out I updated the wrong chapter and for your reviews. -

**Also thanks to :**_ IamSiriusgrl, Never Odd Or eveN, Chaos Ritual, Kililkapele, reighost, pitbull123, quidditchqueen277, Lauren, mea, Shalaren and Phoenix Love. _

Sorry if I've missed out but that's hopefully everyone from chapter 11+.

_**R+R**_

Disclaimer: Nothing heard of belongs to me

Chapter Fifteen: The Riddle House

With a burst of adrenaline Harry raced towards Hogwarts avoiding the main section of the village where teacher, students, and aurors alike where all looking for the missing pupils. Harry was still wandering how on earth was he supposed to get there when out from the forest came a curious Thestral. …_Of course… _Harry thought his thoughts rushing back to the future…to Sirius. A hesitant moment followed as he put a hand on it's mane, _"Acting the hero again Harry," _ Hermione's voice filled his mind followed by the images of seeing Sirius fall through the veil. That was what here for, to save Sirius. But………shaking his head Harry mounted the Thestral. "To the Riddle House," he told it slightly shakily and as it launched into the darkening sky, trying to keep his mind as blank as possible. _Hold in there mum. Dad. Sirius. Remus. _he'd just wouldn't be able to forgive himself in anything happened to them. Obviously the though of his existence disappearing if they died hadn't occurred to him.

Night had fallen by the time the lonely huge dead house came within his vision. He had only seen this once before, been here once before, during a dream. A nightmare of Voldemort committing murder. Harry quickly scouted for a place to dismount without being seen and enabling him to get into the house. The front and back door were both out of the question as dark figures loomed in the night. "Slow down," he whispered to the Thestral. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw a window in the roof of what seem to lead into a attic. "Over there, on the roof," he directed his ride, "And please stay invisible and quiet." he prayed as he quickly cast the disillusionment charm on himself. The pair of them landed silently on the roof next to their way in.

Cautiously Harry slid of the Thestral and glanced around. Happy that no one had seen him he drew his wand and tapped the window with a silent mutter he cast the silencing charm followed by alohomora. "Wish me luck," he murmured to the Thestral as he made his way into the house. Several minutes later Harry had successfully broken in, he was in a dark room filled with what he assumed were large trunks and boxes. After successfully finding a door Harry continued his journey down the house. He could feel his hair standing on it's end as nervous beads of sweat clinged to his skin.

It was not until he made the first floor did he notice the first signs of life. Light was coming from under a crack of a doorway and cold voices could be heard form beyond it. Getting as close as he dared he listened:

"_Comeee Naginiiii, ittttt isssssssss timeeee forrrr aaaaaa newwwww gameeee," came the hiss of only one possibility. "Crabbe, Nott, Lestrange, you are to watch these inadequate beings. Do as you wish but do not kill them." _

"_Thanks you my master, you are so generous," the mere sound of these voices made Harry feel sick. _

There was the sound of someone walking, then the whish of a cloak, then nothing. The tense second of silence was then rashly penetrated by what only could be evil, cruel, cold laughter. The door opened and a masked cloaked man came out, by luck he left the door ajar as he vanishes into the dark corridors. Casting a silencing charm on himself Harry slipped into the room as smoothly as possible wishing he had his cloak which would have provided better protection. Stepping into a corner Harry assessed the situation keeping his eyes away as far as possible from the unconscious group of teens not trusting himself.

There was now currently just two death eaters in the room but Harry knew unless the marauders and Lily woke up he couldn't get them all out of here anyway. But nor did he really did not want to face Voldemort either by lingering around. The two remaining death eaters were whispering to each other in hush voices and Harry was undecided whether he wanted to hear what they were saying. just as he decided to move closer he felt his foot touch something and looked down. It was a wand. James' wand to be exact. And not far from it was Lily's, Remus' and Sirius'. Harry quickly gathered them and steadily made his way to his friends. Parent. Guardian. Whatever they where it did not now matter.

Crouching down he muttered "Enervate," pointing his wand at a very battered and bruised Prongs. It was a couple of minutes before he showed any sign of life but as soon as he did Harry began whispering into his ear. It was a split second later Harry realised he still had the silencing charm on himself. Taking it of he whispered, "Stay quite James, it's Harry." Confused eyes searched the room. "I'm right next to you, just invisible. Don't make any signs that I'm here. Okay? In a minute I'll wake the others up but I want you to pretend your still unconscious for now. Here's your wand, I'm going to attract the death-eaters attention in moment and when I do I want you to run as fast as you can and just get out if here. Do you get that? Get out of here."

Harry repeated the same procedure with the remaining three and checking that the door was still opened he made his way to the most central part of the room, knowing he'll have more chance getting hit if backed into a corner. He'd have to act quick, as soon as one is down the other will be onto him in a second. Deciding Lestrange was more dangerous Harry raised his wand and a red jet of life sped across the room towards it's target. Whether it was death eaters training or just luck Lestrange steeped to the side and the spell hit the wall with full force.

Both men whipped round to find nothing. "Show yourself," one of them, Nott, snarled in a dangerous low voice. Out of the corner of his eyes Harry saw serious helping James and Lily up.

"Finite Incantatem," went through the room and Harry felt the disillusionment charm waver off.

"_Damn,"_ He swore in his mind, he lost the only advantage he had and alerted them. His wand raring to go, Harry began spilling out five years worth of hexes, charms and curses al the whilst moving around dodging them.

"STUPEFY! IMPEDIMENTA!" Harry shouted looking around desperately as Lily, James, Sirius and Remus joined in the fight as three more death eaters approached making numbers even. Even though it was student vs. Death Eaters it gave them more chance. "EXPELLIARMUS! PETRIFICOUS TOTALUS! STUPEFY!" Harry yelled. One down, four to go.

Joint work from Lily and Remus also knocked another out and the five Gryffindors found themselves being backed into the corner of the room. Side by side they bravely stood up facing the death eaters determination set in their eyes. Harry's heart was racing as blood poured profusely from cuts on his arm, chest and face. He knew the others couldn't last much longer after all that torturing.88 come to think of it he didn't know how much longer he was going to last.

"Another brave rescuer, wouldn't the Dark Lord be pleased." One sneered. "All the more fun for us."

"Hmm, a mere half-blood, how very Gryffindors of you."

"Isn't it so interesting that Voldemort only half-blood himself. I seem to recall his mother was a muggle," Harry spat out.

"QUIET! You dare to say his name?"

"Yeah, I have nothing wrong with saying Volde8"

"SHUT UP! You stain our lord with your unworthy lips. CRUCIO!"

Pain like never before seared through Harry making him fall to his knees. Gripping his wand tighter that ever Harry willed himself to stay awake. His vision blurred and he saw nothing but red hot pain, heard nothing but screams. Then suddenly there was a light, not much but enough as he threw himself free of the curse and screamed "STUPEFY!"

Gasping for breath Harry shakily got up to his feet as more blood formed streams away from their source. To Harry's pleasure and satisfaction another body littered the floor and the two who remained standing was visibly shaken and surprised. "You fight the curse8that is impossible."

"Go and tell your favourite pet that," Harry snarled in a low voice. "EXPELLIAR8" But they were to quick as another spell of pain hit him. It took him longer to break free of it and left him greatly weaker but he still did it which seem to anger them all the more.

"NOW!"Harry screamed as spells were thrown across the room. Thump, he heard as Sirius fell to the floor soon followed by Lily. A couple more minutes and there was only one death eater left. Lestrange. Hate filled Harry as he vowed to win this fight.

"IMPERIO," Harry felt the familiar lightness fill his head. "Kill him, kill the boy, kill him."

Automatically Harry found himself turning toward his father. "Kill the boy." He could see James cowering before him. Lifting his wand Harry heard a shout form behind, "NO! HARRY!" It was Lily, she had woken up. So had Sirius. They were all watching him willing him to fight.

"AVADA88888"

To be continued888888

Author's Note: Please don't kill me. I'll try my hardest to update before Friday. Now for the meantime review and review.


	9. Unanswerable Questions 1

Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me so long to update but I've been busy and I had to decide how the story was going to go after HBP. I've also started co-writing a fanfiction with runningwild and it'll be up as soon as we've finished the first ten chapters. It's a Snape/Harry post GOF story (NOT SLASH!) and it should be up later this month if things go accordingly. This story will go on as though HBP does not exist. I can't believe she killed him.

Due to several flames I have decided to answer some reviews to clear up some issues. Well enjoy! And review.

**To everyone who said Harry can over come the Imperius curse:**

You are so narrow minded - We know that but the death eater and marauders plus Lily didn't. At this rate I was going to have Harry kill James for the sake of it. Be a interesting plot though, Hmm.

**To the anonymous reviewer who said Harry has felt the Cruciatus curse from Voldemort before and unless the death eater can make a curse stronger than Voldemort&&&:**

When Voldemort cast it he has just been reincarnated and it'll take a bit of time for his powers to rise to they're full strength and whilst in this time his death eaters and their powers are at peak.

Plus it was only a saying and I was exaggerating.

**Everyone who's spotted the mistake of me putting Tom's mum was muggle and dad wizard when it should be vice versa:**

The mistake has been corrected and thanks for telling me about it.

Disclaimer: You really think any of this belongs to me? If yes as nice as it may seem you need to book yourself appointment at St Mungo's. And I'd have Dumbledore come back from the dead.

Chapter Sixteen: Unanswerable Questions 1

At the last minute Harry spun round on his heel and screamed "STUPEFY!" the surprised death eater fell to the floor with a thud. Panting, Harry collapsed onto the floor trembling. Looking up he peered into his father's pale face, "Sorry about that," he smiled shakily.

"Err, no problem," James answered back as lightly as he could.

"Well, we better get out of here before Voldemort decides to come back," he looked at them all in turn making sure they were still in one piece.

"How?" Sirius asked looking round.

"How'd you get here? How did you know where we were?" Lily asked.

"How about questions later. The sooner we're out the better." As if answering Harry orb of fire suddenly burst in the room causing Lily and Sirius to scream out. "Fwakes," Harry greeted the phoenix in relief as he recognised Dumbledore's pet.

"Ain't that Dumbledore's phoenix?" Remus asked Harry curious.

"Yep, and it's also our ticket home. Everybody hold hands." Ignoring their curious looks Harry took Lily's and with his other took hold of one of Fwakes tail feather. In a flash of fire they disappeared.

It was probably more than a shock for Dumbledore and McGonagall when five teens tumbled out of nowhere onto the floor of the headmaster's office. It had been over six hours seen they had first gone missing. Speechless, they watched as they picked themselves of the floor looking round in relief.

"Well, I must say I'm glad to be back," Sirius joked breaking the silence.

"Black, Potter&" McGonagall spluttered, she looked rather upset, "Where on earth have you been?"

Reminded Harry turned to Dumbledore informed him of the situation, "There are several stunned death eaters at the Riddle House, I'm sure you know where that is and I suggest you hurry before Voldemort," he ignore the flinching of the rest, "Decides to come back for them." he said this all calmly as though he was answering a question in class.

"I'll send someone along immediately and if you'll all like to take a seat I need to hear what had happened," he drew up several flushed armchairs with a wave of his wand before turning to the fireplace behind him.

Harry, who's leg was starting to turn into jelly thankfully sank into one of the chairs giving a small reassuring smile to Lily who still looked quite shaken. Despite his last experience with the headmaster in his own time, right after Sirius death, his presence still offered a relaxing atmosphere.

Finishing his conversation via the fire Dumbledore resumed his seat behind his desk and surveyed each of them in turn before speaking. "Aurors are arriving at the House as we speak, I need you tell me everything that's happened and how you escaped."

"Well," James began launching into story about the attack in Hogsmeade. "We, that's Lily, Sirius, Remus and I, was just on our way back to the castle when some death eaters sprung out from behind the tree. Before we could do anything we were stunned."

"Just the four of you?" Dumbledore interrupted confused, "Wasn't you with them Harry?"

"No," Remus answered and picked up the story, "When we came round again we was in this dark place. There was no light or anything. It was eerie and this probably sound weird but it the place felt dead." The others murmured in agreement at the memory. Taking a deep breath he continued, "The you-know-who&&"

"Voldemort," Harry corrected him, "Fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself," he quoted.

"And your quite right Harry, it's night to know some of us still remember a name holds no power," Dumbledore added.

"Well, he came and started talking to us about&" he broke of looking at Sirius, "how Sirius and you know his family," he shrugged apologetically at Sirius.

"Don't worry Remus, they're nothing good about them," Sires reassured him taking his turn, "Well then Vold&Voldemort was going to curse Lily but James provoked him and he put the Cruciatus curse on him." James winced. "Then he just started putting us under spells."

"I don't know how long it was afterwards," James continued, "But then we was in this room at a large house. He left us to some death eaters and went. Not long afterwards Harry showed up, he had some sort of charm on him to make himself invisible," at this point every turned to look at Harry.

"Disillusionment charm."

"Well, anyway, he came round to each one of us, woke us and gave us our wands. He said he was going to attract the death eaters attention and we was to make a run for it then."

From then Lily finished off, "He did a stunning at one of the Death Eaters but it missed. More death eaters came and we starting duelling. We manage to stun two of them before being backed into a corner. Then one of them put the Cruciatus on Harry but he fought it and stunned one of them."

"You overcame the Cruciatus curse?" Dumbledore commented to Harry impressed.

"It wasn't the only one. They did it again and then we started duelling. Me and Sirius both got knocked out whilst Harry succeeded in stunning another one. Remus had just revived me and Sirius when the last death eater put the imperius spell on Harry and tried to persuade him to kill James. He was half-way saying the killing curse when he suddenly turned round and stunned the last death eater. Then Fwakes turned up," she quickly finished.

"It takes a very powerful wizard to overpower the imperius spell," said Dumbledore.

"Erm," Harry racked his brain for an explanation, "In my last school we had a very paranoid Defence teacher who put us all under it till we could throw it off." It was true besides the fact the teacher was a death eater in disguise.

"He did what?" McGonagall and the marauders all exclaimed. Lily and Dumbledore didn't know what to say.

"Well," he squirmed uncomfortably, "He said he wanted us to be prepared for the war. Erm, someone he knew erm, killed they're family under the imperius and didn't want us to ever have to do that," he lied.

No one looked very convinced but they let the matter go.

"What I think we all like to know Harry is how did you know where the death eaters had taken Lily an d the others. From what I can deduct it was two locations?" Dumbledore asked him as everyone looked at him in interest.

"Errrr&&&"

Author's Note: Sorry it so short but I wanted to get something posted. Any suggestions for cover up story? Thanks for reading and please review, flames accepted but please keep language innocent. :-)


	10. Unanswerable Questions 2

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone's who reviewed and sorry for the long wait. I really have no excuse so apologies humbly. ENJOY!

Disclaimer: Use your head and think - would I be writing **FAN**fiction if any of this belonged to me?

Chapter Seventeen: Unanswerable Questions Part II

"Err&I overheard some death eaters talking," Harry improvised, "They mentioned the Riddle House a couple of times and I guess that where they had been taken." Harry knew it was a lame excuse but it was all he could think of.

"Taken?" Dumbledore repeated.

"Yes, I didn't realise they'd gone missing till I overheard them," Harry had the bad feeling Dumbledore was seeing right through his words. _Could he read minds? _Harry found himself wondering for what must have been the thousandth time.

"And why Mr Granger did you not inform a member of staff or one of the aurors?" McGonagall strict voice cut across, "Death eaters are extremely dangerous and it was lucky you had not been killed."

Harry blinked in surprise. He was after all the boy-who-lived. He was expected to save people. Even Ron and Hermione admitted he had a saving people thing. The thought of getting help or someone else to the job had never occurred to him.

Luckily, Dumbledore came to his rescue, "Minerva, that no longer matters. We can not change what has already been done. They are back safe. What interest me Harry, is how you manage to follow the death eaters to the Riddle House and then to be able to take them by surprise? Voldemort for one is very paranoid about security."

"I rode on a Thestral sir," at least that part was true Harry mused feeling a dozen of penetrating eyes on him.

"A what?" asked Sirius, confused.

"Thestral," Lily informed him, "They pull the school carriages."

"Nothing pulls the carriages," James argued.

"They're invisible," Remus explained before one of the adults had a chance, "Unless the person has seen death." An unearthly silence fluttered through the room.

"Well," Harry continued breaking the awkward moment, "when I reached the house, I snuck in through the attic window and cast a disillusionment and silencing charm on myself. The rest you already know."

There was another tense moment as everyone reviewed their own memories of the day. "Despite your recklessness on not informing a teacher straight away Harry," said Dumbledore, "You have shown courage and bravery beyond expectations. I award Gryffindor seventy points."

"Thanks sir," Harry replied modestly blushing slightly.

"Minerva will you please escort them to Hospital Wing. Harry, please remain behind for a little longer."

McGonagall nodded and giving Harry a swift smile ushered the others out of the room. Dumbledore waited till the last of their footsteps had disappeared before speaking. "Well I m very grateful for what you did Harry but I must remind you again to be careful. You can not risk anyone, least of all Voldemort finding out you are for the future."

"Yes sir," Harry replied tiredly. "Erm," he continued nervously, "Remus kinda guessed but I made him promise not to tell anyone including James and the others."

"When was this?"

"After the dementors' attack. I just told him I'm here for a month and during that time I need to find out some certain information."

"Information?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

Harry realised he had not told Dumbledore of his quest to save Sirius. "Yes, I got a letter, presumably from whoever that brought me back. It said I've got a month to complete my task."

"Which is?"

"I need information about the Black Veil. I can't tell you why as it risks changing the future but it's important."

"The Black Veil?" Dumbledore repeated thoughtfully. "Well I see what I can do. You better get of to Hospital Wing before Poppy comes after my blood."

"Thanks sir." He stood up and Dumbledore had to move quick as the room tilted dangerously.

"Oy, wake up," somebody was poking him irritatingly. Harry stirred.

"Hey Sirius! Stop it. Let him sleep," another voice interrupted. Groggily Harry fluttered his eyes open to find several people hovering over him. "Sorry Harry," Remus apologised handing him his glasses, "I tried to get them to leave you alone."

"It's alright," his words were slurred. "Ouch," he hissed in pain as he tried to sit up. Breathing heavily Harry vaguely heard someone running.

"What are you doing?" a stern voice called, "Get back into bed, all of you." Hurried footsteps. The voice softened, "Drink this, dear." Foul tasting potion trickled down his throat but immediately the pain evaporated. "Better?"

Harry nodded as he gulped down some water. "Thanks."

"Now get some sleep whilst I see to these meddlesome Gryffindors. Really, they get captured by death eaters and are still as troublesome. You'd think it'd knock some sense into them," she muttered angrily. "As for you young man, you are not going anywhere, Hogsmeade or not, until I am happy with you."

Under her gaze Harry nodded knowing full well he was not going to spend more time than necessary here. He let himself be tucked in again and closed his eyes obediently as she went to scold the others back to bed. He waited several minutes after hearing the closing click of her office door before sitting up again. "Hi," he greeted as James, Sirius and Remus sat down on his bed. "You lot okay?"

"Good as new," Sirius grinned somewhat oddly. "She patched us all up in a second."

"Err&so what do you want?" Harry asked sensing the nervous atmosphere in the air.

"Well," James said bluntly, "We know you're lying. Tell us how you know about the Riddle House. There's no way death eaters going to let you over hear their conversation. You can fool Dumbledore but not us."

"What?" Harry exclaimed.

"Granger," Sirius snarled, "Are you a death eater? A spy for Voldemort?"

Harry stared open mouth. How could Sirius call him a death eater? His father? Out of all the people in the world.

"Guys," Remus intervened seeing the hurt look of disbelief and betrayal on Harry, "I'm sure your mistaken. Harry's not a death eater."

"Be quite Remus," James snapped, "He's fooled you like everyone else. Go on Granger, say it."

"I don't believe you," Harry gasped, "How dare you call me a death eater? After I just save you as well."

"How do we know it's not some plan you set up with your master?" Sirius challenged nastily.

"You&you," Harry could not&would not believe it.

"Tell us then&how come you knew all about you-know-who's plans?" James advanced on him.

Anger over came his sorrow. "SHUT UP!" he shouted getting up, "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING! OUT OF ALL THE PEOPLE I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED YOU'D UNDERSTAND. I HATE YOU!" without a backward glance Harry ran from the Hospital Wing tears streaming. Reaching the room of requirements Harry threw the door open to find his old cupboard under the stairs. There he cried himself to sleep. Tears for all the hurt and loss flowed freely washing away the bitter pain.

A/N: Poor Harry, he never gets a break does he? Now he hasn't got Voldemort after his blood he's got his own dad and godfather accusing him of dark arts.

Well, please review. On that matter I've got another quick note. Due to the fear of this story being deleted I will no longer responded to reviews through If you want a response, I'll be happy to e-mail all reviewer individually. Thanks a million.


	11. The Truth Hurts

Author's Note: Hi ya! Thanks for all the brilliant reviews last chapter. The perfect end to the summer. Back to school now sadly. Hopefully updates won't be interrupted, I'm aiming for once every fortnight but no promises and sorry if I'm late. Well, that's all I've got to say for now. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do I even have to say this? Well here it goes; what on earth possessed you to think even for one minute this belonged to me?

Chapter Eighteen: The Truth Hurts

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU" Remus shouted, "HOW? HOW COULD EVEN THINK OF SAYING ANYTHING LIKE THAT? IN CASE YOU'VE FORGOTTEN Harry HAD JUST SAVED OUT LIVES FROM DEATH EATERS. HE DIDN'T HAVE TO BUT HE DID. FOR MERLIN SAKE HE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!"

"REMUS!" Sirius bellowed, "Your suppose to be the smart one here. How on earth could he have so conveniently overheard, find you-know-who's secret hiding place, fight a couple of death eaters and be alive. He would have had to get pass all the wards round that Riddle place. And Remus, the only way he could have done is if he planned it al ahead with you-know-who in the first place. Second the dementor attack, how come Granger so conveniently saves the day both time. So he could fool Dumbledore you idiot," he spat.

"Remus," James reasoned, "We gave Harry a chance to explain didn't we?"

"James for the love of human life," Remus cursed.

"HONESTLY!" An angry voice interrupted them. "GET BACK TO BED AT ONCE!" They all ignored the matron who was besides herself with fury. "FINE," she snapped. A split second later the three boys had been stunned and was peacefully asleep back in bed. Muttering to herself she failed to notice Harry's missing presence.

Harry was awoken in the early hours of the morning by stabbing pains running all along his body. Hissing in pain he figured the potion-killing potion Madam Pomfrey had given him had worn of. Damn, he hated the Cruciatus Curse. He hated Voldemort. He hated he dad. He hated Sirius. He hated his whole bloody life. Fresh tears welled as he angrily brushed them away. How he wished he had never come back to the past. He rather be left to love the memory of his father and godfather in peace.

Snape had been telling the truth. His father was an arrogant git who head was just way too big.

Rolling over he recognised the old cupboard under the stairs. It was a little ironic really. At this moment Harry couldn't help but wished he could go back there. When things were so much simpler. He was Harry, not the boy-who-lived. Not Potter. Harry. The biggest worry he had was Dudley punching him not an insane wizard after his blood, not the fate of the world on his shoulders. Nobody life depended on him. Back then8all he wanted was love but coming with love was all the responsibility and problems of having someone to care for you.

Just for the first time ever Harry wished he never found out he was a wizard.

Author's Note: Yeah, the truth hurts. Just sometimes in life lies hurt but the truth can kill. In a lie, you can still kid yourself things are still okay but in truth you know it's reality, you can't change it. No matter how much it hurts.


	12. Friendship

Author's Note: YIPPEE! I have over 100 reviews. HIP HIP HOORAY! I don't think I can even express how much that means to me :-D ). A million thanks to everyone who has reviewed, your fantastic! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Huh? Do you guys even need to bother to read this? How many times do I have to say this before it penetrates your skull? Why in the world do you even thinks Harry Potter or anything to do with it belongs to me.

_This chapter is dedicated to all my faithful reviewers. You lot really make my day )_

Chapter Nineteen: **The sort of friendship we all dream, search and hope for but seldom find. **

Hurt tears trickled down the side of his face, lulling him back to sleep. Just before dreamland claimed him, Harry felt a airy and strange presence guarding over him. A sense of safety filled him. A small smile crept on to the child's innocent face.

Many hours later, Harry drowsily awoke from the best sleep he had ever had. In his hazy state, it took Harry several minutes to realise why he was feeling so miserable. Sighing, Harry got up slowly, stretching to relieve some of the tension in his aching limbs. Knowing he'll have to face the world again, sooner or later, Harry left the dark and dingy but also the relaxed safety of his cupboard. Maybe last night had been a bad dream. James and Sirius was so shaken up from their ordeal they didn't know what they was saying. There was no chance of that, and Harry knew it. He was just trying to kid himself his most beloved person was still a nice guy. Seeing it was dinnertime (and he was hungry) Harry made his way down to the great hall and tried to make his way to the Gryffindor table unnoticed. Of course, without much success.

His optimistic mood soon vanished along with his appetite. As far as he could tell, the prisoners was yet to released from the Hospital Wing. As always wild rumours had flown round the school, and without a change, all centred round him. If this was what it was going to be like before the marauders had they're say Harry dare not think of the situation when they had. At least now, the school had not yet turned on him. Like so many times it had in the future.

Finally, resorting to a disillusionment charm to escape the horde of students, Harry retired to the library where he continued his search.

He had decided no matter what happened with the Sirius of this time, Harry loved his godfather to the world's end and nothing was going to get between that bond shared between them. Drowned in his task, minutes soon slipped into hours as books after books where put aside. Snapping a particularly old book shut, Harry rubbed his throbbing temples. It was at times like this, he wished Hermione was here. A longing feeling tug him as Harry realised just how much he missed his best friends. This was the first time he had to face anything alone. At least one of them had always been by his side cheering him through to the end. There happy faces lit up in his mind and he could almost hear them, cheering him on, encouraging him.

"_Go on mate8you can't give up now. Sirius will be back before you know it. Don't let them get you down. Show them who you really are8you're the youngest seeker of the century, the boy-who-live, a champion. Your not a quitter and your not going to start now."_

"_Ignore them Harry. They're just a bunch of babies who's pride been scorched. Never lose hope Harry, remember, there's a silver lining to every. Don't give up. We'll always be here for you. No matter what."_

"Hey Harry!" a voice shook him out of his musings.

"Lily," he smiled brightly. "How are you?"

"Fine," she sat down besides him. "Madam Pomfrey's going to do you nuts. If she hadn't been so busy she would have tore the school apart looking for you, then strap you down onto the bed. Anyway," her voice took a much serious tone, "Remus told me what happen last night."

"Yeah8" Harry sighed looking away from her. The last thing he need was his mother to turn away form him. The same girl who sacrificed her life for her son, saving his life with her love. If she said anything at all, if she turned away from him, he would walked calmly to the astronomy tower and jump off.

"Harry." She took his hand in hers and looked squarely into his eyes. "I don't believe for one minute you're a death eater or have anything to do with you-know-who."

Harry's heart missed a beat.

"I can't believe James and Sirius could even think of you like that. Harry, you're my friend and always will be."

"Thanks," Harry whispered. "You don't know how much that means to me," and he was startled to find hot prinks in the corner of his eyes.

She shook her head, he eyes dancing merrily again, "No. It should be me thanking you. That's twice you've saved my life and you've only known me for two weeks." She hugged him tightly, kissing him on the cheek. "Come on, we better get you back to hospital wing. You look as though your about to pass out."

"Sorry, can't" he indicated the large pile of books he still had to go through.

"Harry Granger," it was startling how much he reminded her of Mrs Weasley and Hermione all in one go, "What's most important now is your health. Your school work can wait for later." She grinned, "It's not as though homework grades going to do you much good if you're a ghost."

"Err88" Harry searched blankly for a excuse. It wasn't as though he could tell her what she really was working on.

"Look," Lily reassured him noticing his reluctance, "Potter and his followers are gone. Madam Pomfrey just discharged them."

"Fine," Harry gave in getting up. He could do with some sleep and some more of that pain-killing potion.

It goes without saying that the matron was not best pleased when lost patient finally wondered in. Scolding him at the same time, she forced a bowl of soup followed by several nasty potions down his throat before ordering him to sleep. Promising to some by before breakfast tomorrow Lily left for dinner leaving Harry in a swirl of foggy memories.

Author's Note: Hope you like that. Next chapter, Harry comes face to face with the marauders. What more, in front of the entire school. I'll try my best to update in to weeks. I, of course can be persuaded. _hint hint _Review and Review.


	13. Disappointment

Author's Note: I know this was supose to up last week, I had it up and ready as well but then... well it's a complicated story and I'm sure you rather get on with the story. Thanks for all reviews

Disclaimer: Anything you recognise does not belong to me. I'm merely borrowing them for my own entertainment.

Chapter Twenty: Disappointment

Yesterday, Harry strolled into the great hall as a hero. Someone who lived up to the name of '_the chosen one'. _The only one who could finally bestow the wizarding world from darkness and bless them with light. Today, he and Lily walked into breakfast greeted by glares, whispers and hatred. He was the evil knight. Hisses slithered round him as he sat down at the Gryffindor table.

"Ignore them," Lily whispered encouragingly. It hurt Harry just how much she reminded him of Hermione. "They're just being idiots."

Harry smiled faintly, just how many times did he have to go through this? _'Let's see,' _a sarcastic voice in his mind answered, _'the chamber of secrets, goblet of fire and oh yes , last year when Voldemort came back. Doing quite well on it.'_

Throwing his fork down, radiating with anger, Harry made to leave the hall when he came face to face with the person he loved most. "Running of to your little master now?" Sirius sniggered nastily, "Oy, James be careful otherwise he might kill you while your asleep. Wouldn't put it pass him."

"Shut up Sirius," Lily shouted her red hair standing on it's end with anger, "Harry is no more a death eater than you. For God sake, he saved your bloody life and this is how you say thanks."

"Put you under the imperius has he?" James retorted glaring at Harry, "Didn't think you'd be so blind Evans."

"If there's someone who needs their eyes checking out it's you," Harry replied angrily.

"Don't talk to me with that tone Granger," he growled. "You touch a hair on Evans and you'll pay for it," he threatened menacingly.

"What I do has nothing to do with you James," Lily snapped furious.

By now the majority of the school was watching, professors included. Realising this James dropped his voice so no one besides they're little group could hear. "Wizard Duel, midnight, astronomy tower. Come if you dare."

"Fine," Harry looked his father square in his eye.

The crowds thinned as James and the marauders headed of to the castle. Abandoning his untouched tray Harry set of towards the library, Lily speaking quickly by his side.

"Your not really going to go Harry?" he didn't answer, "You'll get into so much trouble if you get caught. Besides James shad no right to treat you like that. Go to Professor McGonagall, she'll sort them out."

"Yeah, and never hear the end of it," he laughed bitterly. "Lily, you know them longer than me. Are they going to let this rest or McGonagall stop them? Look, I'll catch up with you later. I'll be fine." He ran off, trapped emotions reeling of him.

Grabbing the best broom the school had to offer Harry soared straight into the air, zooming around, a blur of colour, pushing the broom way past it's limit. The cool refreshing whipped his hair back as he let all his feelings go. He dived, skimming his toes along the grass before pulling out racing round the Quidditch pitch. Loops the loops followed each other as he left all the tears and hurt streaming behind.

"HEY HARRY!" a shout interrupted his flight. Harry braked sharply and turned to see Remus hovering fifty feets below him. Frowning slightly Harry dropped see what he wanted.

"Hi," he muttered akwwardly.

"Err…" Remus said nervously, "Some cool flying there," he tried to lighten the tension. "Um…look Harry. I'm really sorry about what happened in the hall. I don't think at all you're a death eater and…and I just wanted to say thanks. For…for saving me."

"Yeah," Harry muttered half-heartedly. "Didn't think so this morning did ya?" Harry accused his anger once again flaring up.

Remus blushed. "I'm sorry but it's… it's just that James and Sirius……you know," he shrugged.

"No I don't know!" Harry snapped, "Remus, you're a prefect. You can't watch someone do something wrong and pretend you can't see just cause they're your mates. It doesn't make you any better than them!"

Turning sharply away, Harry flew back toward the castle, away from everyone else.

It was twenty minutes to midnight. Harry had spent his time from curfew onwards in Gryffindor common room concealed by a disillusionment charm, topped by an advance notice-me-not charm so his location would be safe, even from the marauder's map. James and his little group had left about ten minutes ago and the large room was silent and empty. Deciding it was time to go, Harry had just pushed the portrait door open when…

"Harry," he jumped, right into an neighbouring armchair.

"Ouch," he yelped in surprise, "Lily, what are you doing here?"

"You really think I was going to let you go alone to meet James," she looked at a spot about three metres from where he was. "Where are you?" she asked.

"Here," she jumped as Harry suddenly appeared into her vision.

"How'd you know I was here?" he asked.

"Great on the disillusionment charm," she smirked, "But some work on the silencing will do some good."

"Knew I'd forgotten something," he muttered to himself. "Come on, or we'll be late."

"Fine."

Two invisible figures crept through the corridors of the greatest wizarding school in the world, unknowingly watched by a little bird's eye.

Author's Note: Please Review, their greatly appreciated


	14. Midnight Duel

Author's Note: Sorry it's taking me so long to update but sadly I've got an important exam coming up. Thanks to anyone who's reviewed.

Disclaimer: In no ways does Harry Potter belong to me

Chapter Twenty One: Midnight Duel

By the time they reached the astronomy tower it was decided that Lily was to stay hidden unless she was needed . There was enough friction between the father and son as it was. Seemingly alone Harry entered the top room of the tower where his opponent was already waiting.

"Good evening Mr Potter," Harry greeted him with a force voice. Despite all the emotion whirling in within him Harry vowed to stay calm.

"Ready Granger?" Behind him stood Sirius and Remus. It was odd how much this reminded Harry of Malfoy.

Harry's grip round his wand tightened. "Be prepared to lose James."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Granger," James smirked.

Glaring at Harry, Sirius stepped back to the side of the room. With somewhat a defeated look and sigh Remus walked so he was in the middle but to the side. He was going to be the referee. Now guys, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, slightly desperately.

"yes," James replied unhesitantly.

"Harry?"

Harry looked from James to Remus and back to James. "Yes."

"Okay. Bow. Three…two…one. START!"

"EXPELLIARUS," Harry yelled ducking a beam of red light.

"PROTEGO!"

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"

"STUPEFY!" James retaliated.

"IMPEDIMENTA!"

"PROTEGO!"

"RICTUSEMPRA"

For over 5 minutes Harry, spun, duck and dodged spell after spell each time retaliating with his own. James was a good dueller but he didn't have the reflexes or speed of the youngest seeker in a century. However, James didn't have to deal with the memories of Harry's last duel which where resurfacing in full force. The bitter sting of when he had lost the person he loved most in this world. All cause of him.

Him.

The word echoed in Harry's mind. He let his guard down.

"Diffino."

Warm red liquid spilled from a deep gash on Harry's side.

Him.

"James!"

"Potter!" Lily had seen enough. Discarding her camoflague she made to walk straight on when Sirius interfered by putting both her and Remus into the full body bind. Things were just perking up, he wasn't going to let them spoil James' chnace at revenge.

"Serpentsorsia."

A long thick scaled coil leaped out from James wand landing at Sirius's feet. It raised it's head, fangs ready.

Harry snapped out of his daze. "Don't!" he hissed.

Author's Note: Please review and tell me what you think.


	15. Flight of the Phoenix

Author's Note: Thanks for everyone's review and I hoe this chapter lives up to your expectations. Apologies for the length, well lack of length.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me.

_This chapter is dedicated to Kelsey. I'm sorry. _

Chapter Twenty-Two: Flight of the Phoenix

Sharp point froze millimetres away from warm flesh. It turned confused, "Why? He is caussssing you much pain."

Harry shut his eyes realising what he had just done. He gulped, "I know, but he hasssss alsssso causssssed me much happinesssssssss. I love him. Pleassssssse don't hurt him." his voice was strained and tearful.

"I won't, but thissssss man doessss not love you back. He wissssshesssssss you great pain."

"Thankssssssssss," Harry waved his wand and the snake disappeared. Taking a shuddering breath Harry looked up.

Four shock and pale faces were staring at him. Two with hatred and fear; James and Sirius. Remus, shock, fear, understanding? Lily? He didn't dare look. Not his mum as well, Harry begged silently.

"You foul death eater!" James and Sirius had got over their shock. "Expelliarmus!"

He was being thrown into the air. Pass the stone brickwork. Falling. Falling. A lone tear fell, shimmering in the moonlight. "I'm sorry," Harry whispered silently as darkness took over.

A burst of warmth. Hope. Fire. Grasping Harry with his talons, Fawkes soared high. The scarlet and gold bird landed gently back in the astronomy room. Laying his rescued charge on the floor the little dewdrop lay below, forgotten. Clear jewels bled from his eyes splashing onto the open wound where blood leaked afresh. A soft melody circled them.

Watching from the heavens someone else too was crying. From regret. Guilt. Sorrow. Love.

Suddenly from no where a voice was calling for her. It did not say anything but it was calling. She smiled through her tears. Fawkes.

Lily watched in admiration and fear as a silver glow formed besides Harry and Fawkes. At first it was a distant mist than the silvery substance of a invisibility clock. Lily tried to work out what it was then it became clear. It was a girl. She was kneeling besides Harry, long silvery pale golden hair covered her bowed face. She was wearing a long dress and cloak in the same colour with a silky texture. The stranger stood up. Her hair fell back revealing her features. She was very pretty but there was the distinct aura of unreality around her. Clear blue eyes like pools of ocean looked back at her. They were bright, shining with tears. She was crying.

"Love your son Lily. James. Your ray of sunshine. This is a chance for you all to do say. He won't be here forever and neither will you. Remember _Love is a gift and it heals us all_."

Author's Note: I'm willing to bet my beloved copy of HBP that you thought Harry's parseltounge was going to go against him but it's a very rare gift and I though it was high time it did something for him, but I guess this was a bit of a weird way; helping him via getting him chucked of the astronomy tower. ) Please review!


	16. Revelations

Author's Note: Thanks for all reviews, they're greatly appreciated and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter ) I've also posted a one-shot original fiction on and I'll be extremely grateful if you'll check it out and tell me what you think. Thanks.

Disclaimer: This is purely for entertainment. No money is made.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Revelations

Large clouds of smoke surrounded him as he groped his way to consciousness. With a groan Harry rolled over onto his side before opening his sleep-filled eyes. A sigh of despair escaped him as his groggy mind remembered the latest turn-out of events. Sitting up, Harry rubbed his eyes and blinked in surprise. For some reason he was lying on the cold stone floor of the astronomy tower. The last he knew, he was falling off the tower. Picking up his freezing and bruised body of the icy floor Harry felt his anger rise as he saw Lily lying unconscious on the floor. This was quickly replaced with worry and panic when he realised James, Remus and Sirius were all in similar conditions.

What had he done?

Anger and self-hatred bubbled and boiled from within him. Why? Why did he always have to hurt all the people around him? Everyone he loved or come close to had to pay for his actions!

Shaking, Harry fled from the scene, stumbling. The halls were deserted and Harry ran blindly out of the school, into the grounds tripping and tumbling over astray twigs, stones and sticks. Slipping on a patch of wet grass and leaves Harry went flying through the air landing with a splash in the frosty lake. _( D )_

Meanwhile, many floors above Lily and the marauders were beginning to stir. James stared dazedly at the others as his mind tried to process something very important. Then it hit him.

Harry was his son.

And he had just tried to kill him. He had accused him of being a death eater.

Seeing the looks of horror on every face of his friends, James knew he had messed up. Big time. Something else clicked in his mind. "Remus!" he look his friend straight in the eye, "You knew."

Remus, finding the floor amazingly interesting, guiltily nodded.

"You knew!" Sirius gaped furiously, "And you never told us?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell," Remus tried to explain to no avail.

"How long have you known?" James asked his eyes blazing.

"Since the dementors came to the quidditch match."

"All that time and you didn't see a reason to tell me!"

Remus found his patient wearing thin, "JAMES! I had no reason to tell you. But asked yourself, would you have believed me? Believed him?"

"Of course, I'm his dad!"

"You been a flipping brilliant dad," Lily shouted sarcastically. It was the unexpected language and tone of voice coming from Lily which silenced everyone. "James, you had no right in blaming Remus for not telling you. It was Harry's choice, no one else and I don't' blame him the way you've been acting."

"I haven't…" was James immediate retort.

"Is accusing him of a death eater and making his life as difficult as you can nothing?" Lily was fuming. "Is throwing him of the astronomy tower nothing?"

"Well, I didn't know. If I had known……"

"It wouldn't have made a difference! Whether you knew or not you had no right in treating Harry or anyone else that way!"

"I……I…" James stuttered. He was wrong. He knew it. Then why was admitting it so hard. Finally he said looking down dejectedly at the floor, "I'm sorry Lily. Remus."

"Harry the one who needs to hear that," Lily said.

"Come to think of it," Remus pointed out, "Where is Harry?"

Everyone looked round. They had just noticed but he was gone.

"We better go and find him," James voice was missing his usual confidence and ego.

"Sirius?" Remus looked at his other friend.

Sirius sighed, "I'm sorry moony, I…we messed up. Sorry Lily."

Remus smiled sincerely at his friend, "Apology accepted."

Harry sat tightly hugging his knees to him, staring blankly into the deep ripples of the water. Blood leaked afresh from his heart where it had been slashed by his loved ones. Shivering from the cold, Harry sigh as loneliness and the longing for his friends overwhelmed him. Tired of all this fighting, all this hurt, Harry wanted nothing more than to go home. The raw grief of losing Sirius was nothing compared to this knowledge of being hated by the people he thought he could always turn to in his troubles, if given the chance.

"Hey Harry," a soft voice called from behind him.

Harry tensed as he recognised the loving voice of his mother. A mixture of fear and relief made him turn. Besides her were Sirius, Remus and……and his dad.

Harry tried to, wanted to say something but couldn't find the voice or words. An awkward silence settled between them as Harry squirmed under his guardian's gaze.

"Gr…Harry," James stepped forward, "I'm sorry. For everything." He held a hand forward.

Harry stood up looking uncertainly and warily at the extended hand. Harry looked past James, settling his gaze on Lily. Receiving a smile of reassurance Harry accepted James' friendship.

Next was Sirius. Then Remus, "I'm sorry Harry. What you said was right and I'm sorry for taking so long to realise it was the truth. I chose the easy option out and it was almost to late for me to turn back and do what was right."

"You have, and that's what matter," Harry said philosophically. "It's always hard to chose between your friends and going against your instinctively action. I made the wrong choice before and believe me the result was much more devastating," Your life, Harry added silently.

Finally, Harry turned to Lily.

"So…" she started of but Harry cut across her.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You never doubted me and was always there. That's mean more to me than anything."

Lily reached out and hugged Harry tightly. "I'll always trust you Harry." She quickly recoiled, "Your soaking Harry . What happened to you?"

Harry grinned sheepishly "I kinda tripped and fell into the lake," he explained.

Everyone laughed as Lily got out her wand cast a quick drying charm, "Your going to catch your death know," she tutted.

"Forevermore the fussy mother," Sirius teased. Lily blushed.

"Let's go in for an early breakfast," James said.

"I'm in," Remus readily agreed. "It's freezing out here."

"Lets go," Sirius said, "By the way Harry you must tell us how on earth James managed to get Lily to agree to date him let alone marry and have a kid together." It was funny how much James and Lily avoided looking at each other and how much they resembled a beetroot. It was funny how much James and Lily avoided looking at each other and how much they resembled a beetroot.

Harry stopped in his step.

"Harry?" Remus asked concerned. Harry had gone very pale, well even whiter than he already was.

"I'm okay," Harry mumbled as his vision blurred. White-hot pain was radiating of his scar getting more and more intense by the seconds. _Not now, _Harry pleaded. The floor tiled, someone grabbed him and just before darkness consumed him Harry heard Lily shriek _"Harry!"_

_To be continued……………_

Author's Note: Hope you liked that. R+R :-)


	17. Feverish Dreams

Author's Note: Sorry that I haven't updated in so long but I've been really busy and completely rushed of my feet. This is probably the last you'll here from me this side of the new year so enjoy this. Wishing everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR!.

Disclaimer: The only payment I am receiving and asking for are reviews so don't sue!

Chapter Twenty-Four: Feverish Dreams

"Harry!" Lily shrieked as James and Sirius lunged at him just before he hit the ground.

Lowering to the ground with his head resting against James, Remus took in his pale flushed features and placed his palm against Harry's forehead and cheek. "He's burning up. We need to get him to the hospital wing."

Without replying, James easily picked Harry up and they all followed him at a run to the matron, who was certainly not pleased to see them all again so soon. Ordering Lily to get a fever-reducing potion from her cabinets she changed Harry wet clothes into some pyjamas with a wish of her wand. After administrating the potion, she shooed the remaining marauders from her quarters reassuring them he'll be alright.

Meanwhile, vivid images were filtering through Harry's mind as he desperately tried to wake. However, sleep clung to him like a permanent sticky charm and he could do nothing but watch the portrayed show.

_Several death eaters torturing a muggle family of four. The mother already dead from the cruciatus curse, lying in a pool of dark crimson liquid. Hugged protectively to her chest was her three year old son. High screams filled the air as the father tried to shield his remaining family; his beloved eight year old daughter._

_"ADAVA KEDAVA!"_

_"DADDY!" _

_Cruel mocking laughter, "Daddy!" One of the death eaters mimicked. "AVADA..."_

"NO!" Harry screamed.

"Harry," a worried voice called as the boy trashed round trying to break free of his nightmare. "Harry!" Firm strong arms held him to stop him from injuring himself.

Breathing heavily, Harry opened his eyes where pools of dewdrops had formed. "They killed her," he cried shakily, "She's was only a kid. They killed her..."

"Shh," a soft hand gently caressed his hair, "It was only a dream Harry. Only a dream."

Harry turned to see who it was. "Dad?" Even in the darkness, Harry could see a smile form.

"Go back to sleep Harry, your safe now."

Drying his tears on his sleeve Harry closed his eyes resting his chest against his father's chest. Memories laid on the edges of his vision as the protective aura of his father kept them away.

_They were at a different location. Five different death eaters fighting two powerful determined wizard. There was something vaguely familiar about them. Reminding him of someone else. Molly Weasley. These must have been her brothers, Harry realised. Gideon and Fabien Prewett. The photo Moody has showed him. A sinking feeling rested as he watched the murder of Molly Weasley's family. It was then, as hurry watched mesmerised, did he truly understand the boggart form, the greatest fear of Mrs Weasley last summer, her fear for her family. You didn't know when was your last goodbye was._

_The scene changed. Diagon Ally. The streets were deserted silent and much emptier than Harry ever remember. The odd shoppers would rush from shops to shop, keeping their eyes cast, but never daring to meet another. The tense atmosphere of mistrust and fear could have been sliced with a knife. _

_The setting changed yet again. Into the warm living room of a wizarding family. To children was sitting on a red hearthrug before the fire playing chess whilst another two sat in the corner whispering lowly to each other. A women, who strongly reminded Harry of Mrs Weasley, the fond look as she glazed at her children to the worried frowned as she checked the time on the mantle. "Your father's late again. If he doesn't get home soon his dinner will be ruined." A crack! "David!" she called out in greeting as she stepped into the kitchen. "Thank goodness your back. I was getting worried." _

_A tallish man, with brown hair entered. His face held kind features, but his eyes were blank. Empty. Lifeless. The imperius._

_"Daddy," an excited child hugged him round the legs._

_"DON'T" Harry shouted as he picked her up and threw her across the room. She hit the wall with a sickening thud as the others rushed over to her._

_"MUM!" _

_"What is it dear," she paled running over to te unconscious child. "Maybel," she cried nearing hysteria, "Maybel dear. David help me."_

_Lifting her precious gem of the floor she turned to find her husband wand pointed directly at her and the kids. _

_"NO ONE LEAVES!" _

_"David! What's the matter with you? We need to get Maybel to St. Mungo. David?"_

_"NO ONE LEAVES!" he turned pointing his wand at the injured child. "Avada Kedava."_

_The family stared speechlessly at the man whom they had all loved like the sun. His wand shifted it's angle. Towards his youngest son. _

_"Andrew," mum pulled her son behind her, still cradling her lost child. "David," she pleaded, "Please."_

_"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"  
_

_"Please." _

_"MOVE!"  
_

_"David." she sobbed._

_"AVADA KEDAVA." She crashed to the floor._

_"MUM!" the kids fell to their knees besides her._

_David eyes closed. He swayed slightly then reopened them. He stared shock at the scene before him. At the wand in his hand. Pointing to his wife. "Lizzie?" he chocked on his words._

_"I HATE YOU! YOU KILLED HER. I HATE YOU!"_

Harry wrapped his arms round his shuddering body, choked with horror and sadness at what he had just seen. To kill your family without any awareness then to wake up from a sleep to the nightmare of what you have just done. The rejection of your children. The guilt of your blood stained hands.

"Harry?"

Harry jumped. "Lily," he gasped. "What are you doing here?" It was still dark.

"I couldn't sleep. I was to worried about you."

"Me?"

"You been running a fever of 103 for two nights," she sighed exasperated. "Are you alright?" she peered at his pale face. "Your shaking."

Harry couldn't bring himself to say fine as he buried his face into the duvet. "What's the matter Harry?" she asked panicked. "Do you want me to get Madam Pomfrey?"

He shook his head, "I'm alright," he mumbled shakily, not looking at her. "You better get back before you get into trouble."

"Harry, tell me what's wrong," she coaxed. "It's not good to lock everything inside yourself. Your only human."

_No. I am the bloody boy-who-lived. _"Just leave me alone Lily." he regretted his harsh tone. "Please?"

She sighed, getting up, "Alright, but don't think your getting out of it."

"Thanks mum," he whispered softly.

Lily turned. It was strange, but in some way it felt nice. Sighing, she headed to Gryffindor tower. Uttering the password to the dozy fat lady, she step through the portrait hole, right into someone. "Who's there?" she asked sharply.

"Me."

"James? What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same," he removed his cloak.

"Well, I asked first," she crossed her arms.

"I……I was going to see Harry," he admitted.

She relaxed, "Same here. I've just come back."

"So how is he?" James said neutrally.

She sat down in one of the armchairs, defeated. "I don't know. I really don't know."

"What do mean?" he sat down opposite her.

"Well, when I went in he was already awake sitting up. At first he seemed surprised why I was there, then I asked if he was okay. He was really pale and shaking. He just told me he was fine and for me to go."

"It's his trademark. Taking everything onboard himself. Yesterday, when I went," he refused to look at her, "he was having a nightmare of some sort and when I managed to wake him, he just starting crying. He was saying someone killed someone else, and this killed someone was only a kid."

"Who do you think he could have been?" she asked pensively.

"She." Lily looked up. "It was a girl. He kept saying her."

"You……you don't think," Lily squirmed uncomfortably, "She could have been his sister?" _Their daughter. _

"I……I……" silence.

Author's Note: I hope you liked that. Please review and tell me what you think. Merry Christmas, have a happy holiday! )

P.S. I know in OOTP, Remus and Sirius said they didn't start going out till 7th year, and it will remain true. Just in this story they start sharing an understanding of each other.


	18. A Daddy's Love

Author's Note: Apologies that it's taken me so long to update. Thanks for all reviews and happy reading.

Disclaimer: The magical world of Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling.

_Let me tell you a secret about a daddy's love._

_A daddy doesn't love his child every now and then, its love without an end. – Unknown _

Chapter Twenty-Five: A daddy's love

Harry sat curled up in an armchair staring hypnotised through the window as the first flakes of snow fell. Mesmerised by the beautiful white, Harry realised, for the first time, how close it was to Christmas. However, he could not bring himself to be cheerful at the prospectus of spending Christmas with his mother and father, his mind still being haunted by the memories of the family who wouldn't get the chance to smile as the festive season drew near.

His heart went out to the children whose world was smashed and over night lost all they had ever known, the parents who watched from the side while their sunshine was slowly erased from before them. Harry shivered.

The door opened. Harry spun round. A girl, a forth or fifth year, walked in. She had long black hair and reminded Harry of someone he knew. She approached him, "Harry?" she said hesitantly.

Harry looked at her in a confused manner. Who was she and why was she here?

"I'm Corey," she answered his unspoken question, "and I wanted to thank you for saving my brother. I also want to apologies for his idiotic actions. I trust you and don't believe for a minute you're working for Voldemort."

"Your brother?" Harry echoed

"James."

"You're his sister?" Harry gasped, that would her his aunt. An aunt he never knew he had. Why hadn't Remus, Sirius, Dumbledore, McGonagall or anyone else mentioned her?

"Yes," she raised an eyebrow, "why?"

"Nothing," Harry recovered himself, "its just that he never mention having a sister?"

She shrugged, "I never expected him to. He only ever has eyes for himself and Lily," Corey added.

"Oh," Harry was lost for words.

"Well," she looked nervous again, "I just wanted to say sorry. James had no reason to treat you that way."

"That's okay," Harry said, "I wouldn't have held it against you. Besides I think we've sorted out differences out."

"What do you mean?" she said slowly as though not believing what she was hearing. "He never said sorry, did he?"

Harry nodded, unsure.

She gave a low whistle. "Wow, Harry. James never admits to being wrong, trust me. You really must be your father's son."

Harry blinked. "What?" He was sure he had misheard.

Corey laughed, "I said you really must be your father's son. I haven't told anyone," she added hastily noting his stricken complexion.

"H…How do you know?" Harry choked. Who else now knew?

Corey sat down on one of the many beds facing him, "I was kind of suspicious from the beginning, I figured it had to be more than a coincidence that you looked so much like James and with Lily's eyes. I wasn't sure at first but after you saved Lily from the dementors in the quidditch pitch I would have bet my broomstick you knew more about her and James than you let on. After that fiasco at Hogsmeade when you jumped again to save her like that I was even certain I was right."

"Then…then why didn't you confront me before?" Harry asked.

"Even if I had been wrong, I presumed you were sent here for a specific reason. Not only are your defence skills so advanced but Hogwarts practically never accept new students once a school year begins," Corey explained. "After your encounter with the death eaters and my idiot brother turned the school against you, I found Remus. The first thing which struck me was he was on his own and seemed very upset about something. I asked him but he said he wasn't allowed to tell me. I then bluffed a bit and he told me the whole thing," she confessed. "How you're from the future and that you're James and Lily's son."

Harry sat dumbfound. Were all girls this clever or just the ones he'd come across, Harry wondered, his mind floating back to Hermione and Ginny. "D..does anyone else knows," he stuttered finally.

Corey shook her head, "Remus swore me to secrecy not that I would have told anyone about you anyway," she reassured him. You're here for a reason, I don't know what but it had to be something pretty big if you've travelled 20 years."

"Yeah," Harry looked away from her, staring dejectedly at the floor, "it is."

"What wrong?" Corey asked gently.

"Nothing," Harry muttered looking out of the window.

Corey got up, walked over to the window and opened it, letting in the cool wintry breeze. She leaned out of it staring at the beautiful white scene laid spread out in front of her. "You know," she said softly, "Things don't always work out the way we want them to. They'll be problems and someone's going to get hurt, but we can only save what we can. Everyday there's more and more reports of people dying, people getting hurt. Before I knew you Harry, to me there wasn't a future. All I could see was a world of darkness without a single way of winning. But you know what Harry," she turned round smiling at him, her eyes twinkling, "You've shown me something very special, you're proof there is a future out there waiting for us and it's worth fighting for. Not only do I now know the sun will still rise tomorrow but I'll have a brave courageous nephew." She reached over and hugged him tightly, her eyes moist with warm liquid.

Harry hugged her back, burying his face into his chest. She drew back, perching onto the arm of the chair; she took his hand into hers. "Whatever going to happen, Harry, I'll love you and so will James and Lily. I'm just really glad I got the chance to see you. I know I'm not going to make it to see the light at the end of this war." Harry opened his mouth to say something but she hushed him, "You never knew James had a sister; that you had an Aunt Corey, but I don't mind. I now know there's a season of hope to come, for ever one of us." She embraced him again.

Drowning in the warmth of her radiant love, Harry heart ached to know she'll never see the day of triumph, when the phoenix soared over the serpent. As she held him in her arms, she gently caressed his hair as he drifted of into a peaceful slumber.

Harry awoke with a start when he felt someone move. He flickered his eye open, "James?" Harry said groggily.

"Harry!" James jumped, "What are you doing awake. Sorry I woke you."

"It's alright," Harry said standing up, stretching his tired limbs, they were cramped form sleeping in the chair. "I think I've spent more than enough time in bed."

"You need your rest," James reprimanded, "You've been really ill."

"I'm okay, what time is it?"

"Just gone three o'clock," he gently pulled Harry back onto his bed, tucking him underneath the covers, "I've got a free lesson."

"How's Lily?"

"Besides being frantic with worry and constantly fretting over you she's fine," James chuckled rolling his eyes. "But then again," he added seriously, "you've had everyone worried."

Harry grimaced, he hated being in the centre of attention. His memory turned backed to his last encounter with her, "James, if you see Lily tell her sorry I snapped at her. I wasn't in a very good mood and she didn't deserve it."

"She understands. Why don't you tell me what was the matter?" James suggested.

Harry tensed.

"I realise you can't risk changing the future, but you can't keep everything yourself just to protect everyone around you."

Harry signed, "I know, but I…I just can't say," he finished lamely.

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt again because of me."

"Harry," James sat next to him wrapping an arm round Harry's shoulder. Harry leant against his warm body. "I don't know what happens in your life but from what I've seen of you I'm darn sure you'll never purposely hurt someone. You're brave, you're fast and powerful, you've got a brilliant heart and I couldn't ask for anything else in my son. I love you Harry, more than anything else."

There was a moment of silence as the words sunk into the individuals, each creating a different effect.

"James," Harry said suddenly, "Why didn't you tell me about Corey?"

"Corey?" James echoed.

Harry squirmed round so he was facing him, looking questioningly at his father, who had gone very pale.

James swallowed, "Harry, Corey was killed by death eaters in the summer. She was staying over at a friend's house, deaths eaters attacked. Both Corey, her friend Becka and her family died in the attack."

Author's Note:

This is something I wrote for another book but it came to mind while writing this chapter:

_Everything changes _

_I'm holding fast_

_But every new day_

_Brings a new beginning_

_A season of hope_

_To love and to cherish _

_From the sunrise to the sunset_

_It's tomorrow's promise _

_Form this day on_

_Things are going to be different_

_I don't know how this story ends_

_But one day I'll know_

I know a lot of things are happening in one go and Harry's been in the past for only about a fortnight, his visit will just after Christmas is over. I have to give him at least one Christmas with his family and the people he loves. I suppose were in the phase what's called the calm before the storm.

I'm also going through the stage of editing and re-writing my previous chapters so update may get a bit slow. Sorry!

Hope you liked it and please review.


	19. Understanding

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews, they were greatly appreciated. I don't know if anyone has noticed but this story seem to have shrunk a chapter. That's because I re-wrote the first two chapter of this story and combined them to make one longer chapter. It's in more detail and better thought through but the gist of it's the same, and it's drastically improved in terms of grammar and spelling thanks to my beta, Death Hawk. The chapter numbers may be a bit funny but I'll sort it out once I've revised everything. Happy Readings!

Chapter Twenty-Five _(six):_ Understanding

A wave of shocked silence flowed through the room as Harry fixed his wide eyes upon his father's face, his mind having trouble processing what he had just heard. "Wha…" Harry stuttered, his breathing shallow and uneven, "I…" he broke off, hesitant on what he should say.

"Wh…why did you ask?" James choked.

"I…" Harry moved his gaze away from his father, a swelling surge of loss and uncertainty engulfing his thought. Indecisive thoughts swimming inside him: Who was that girl then? Was it a dream, but she was real? Was she a ghost, but she was solid. Should he tell James? Why hadn't anyone ever told him? Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore? What did she want? Why did she come and see him? Should he tell James? Should he? Repeated thoughts echoed in his mind bouncing off the walls of his skull.

"Harry?" James called out softly when Harry showed no sign of coming out of his remorse. "Harry?" he called again. Once again receiving no response James wrapped his arm round his son pulling him into a warm embrace. Instinctively, he began rubbing soothing circles on Harry's back, whispering words of reassurance in a fatherly way.

How come, why, for fifteen years Harry had no knowledge what so ever on family members outside his parents and the Dursley and now everything, every hidden truth came tumbling out like an avalanche.

He had always been led to believe he had no other family, why had nobody ever contradicted him? Another death, another cut into his heart.

Harry slowly came out of his ruminations following the guidance of his father's voice. Upon realising what had happened and where he was he stammered an embarrassed apology.

"Shh," James cut him off placing a gentle finger against his lips. "It's okay. Why don't you tell me what's bothering you Harry?"

"It's nothing," Harry answered dismissively.

James raised an unbelieving eyebrow and gave Harry a look as though daring him to tell.

"Really," Harry insisted, "I'll be fine. I was just surprised," he justified in attempt to convince James.

"About Corey?" James remarked, frowning and confused. Why on earth would Harry, his son, be surprised to find out about his aunt, even is she did die before his birth.

"Y-e-ah," Harry said slowly, "You…I…It's just nobody told me what happened to her."

"Huh?" James uttered baffled.

"I can't say anything else," Harry said quickly, afraid he had said something wrong, "I'm not allowed to tell you anything about the future."

"I suppose so," James agreed tentatively, it still didn't really make any sense to him. He pushed the mysterious puzzle to the back of his mind as Lily entered the room. "Hello Lily."

"Hello, James, Harry." She sat down on to the bed adjacent to his, "How are you feeling Harry?"

"I'm fine," Harry blushed remembering their last encounter, "I'm sorry I snapped at you before Lily."

"That's alright," she said dismissively, "You didn't mean it. So," she scouted or another subject, "When's Madam Pomfrey going to let you out?"

Harry shrugged, "I hope it's soon," he grimaced, "its dead boring being in here."

"You shouldn't go falling into half frozen lakes then," James jest.

"Hey! I didn't on purpose," Harry defended. Lily rolled her eyes. "What have I missed?" Harry asked.

"We're still working on vanishing charms in Transfiguration, we're doing kittens now. Professor Flitwick just starting us on the shield charm and……"

"Ravenclaw slaughtered Slytherin 250 to 60 yesterday," James interrupted.

"Potter!" Lily said indignantly, "I was speaking if you please."

"About lessons."

"And the problem with that is," she contested.

"It's boring," James elaborated exasperated.

"Will you please stop it," Harry intervened as Lily made to counter, "You've both had your say. Quidditch and lessons are equally important, okay?"

The door to the Hospital wing opened and in stroll Albus Dumbledore, with his trademark twinkle and beaming smile. "Good afternoon gentlemen and ladies," he greeted them readily.

"Good afternoon professor," they replied falling over their words as James slipped of Harry's bed on to the chair besides, his face flushed with embarrassment.

Dumbledore's eyes, if possible, sparkled brighter still, noting the discomfort of his pupils. "How are you, Harry?" he queried politely, sitting down next to lily.

"Fine, thank you," Harry replied cautiously, apprenhensive of the glint in the headmaster's gaze. "Is there anything wrong Professor?" Harry wondered aloud.

"No," Dumbledore quickly reassured him before panic could build up. "I merely want to speak to Poppy about something." Promptly, said matron emerged from her office, a floating tray guiding her way.

"Good afternoon Albus," she addressed Dumbledore as she deposited the tray onto a table.

"Afternoon Poppy, I have something to discuss with you when you finish."

She nodded to show her understanding focussing her attention on Harry. "Your temperature's back to normal," she reported, straightening up as she completed her examination. "If nothing else happens," at this point she gave Harry a dark look, "you may go tomorrow. Mr Potter and Miss Evans, I think it is time you went to lunch, you can come back after dinner."

James opened his mouth to protest which quickly faltered at a warning glare from the matron and Lily's tugging. "See you later Harry," they simply said before exiting.

Handing Harry his tray of dinner, she and Dumbledore vanished into her office, leaving Harry to his food and brooding ponderings. A whirlwind of perplexity and disorders swept round his thought as Harry tried to peace together the events of the morning.

He had just finished eating when Dumbledore materialised and took the seat James had been in not long ago. "Sir," Harry said as a sudden alarm occurred to him, "How many people now know I'm from the future?"

"Well, besides myself, you, Lily, James, Remus and Sirius only Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey know. They both have my confidence they will not delude the information to anyone."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement, "Sorry," he apologised, "I should have been more careful around Lily, James and the other."

"You have done nothing wrong Harry, a secret like lies will always be revealed in the end. There also the fact that it was not you who told let the pixies out."

"But Remus worked it out? Didn't he tell the others? How did they find out?" A jumble of questions escaped him.

"No, Remus was true to his world and did not reveal your secret to anyone. From what I gather, when James and Sirius threw you form the astronomy tower, Fawkes came to your rescue and whilst he was healing your wounds a mysterious girl, dressed in silver, appeared. It was her who told James and Lily you were their son."

"Do you know who she is professor?" Harry asked. What about Corey? His mind said. Where they the same person? James hadn't recognised her, but how come she was here? Were the two connected?

"Alas," Dumbledore voice stemmed his train of theories, "I don't. Fawkes knows of her so I am sure she means no harm towards you or anyone."

"Do you think she was the one who brought here, back into the past?" Harry deciphered.

"She may very well be, but we will find out when the time comes." Dumbledore seemed to be debating with himself about something before he spoke again, "Harry, knowledge of the future is dangerous and whilst they may know who you are and where you are from it is the utmost importance you do not disclose anything which may affect the balance of the future. It may take just one mistake to wipe away a person's existence," he insisted in a firm voice.

"I understand sir," Harry said definitely.

"Good, now contrary to what I said before," Dumbledore said smiling good-humouredly, "I wonder is there anything you would like to tell me."

"Like what sir?" Harry pressed, his memories recounting all the times he had been asked that same question, and every time he had countered no, despite knowing full well the headmaster knew there was something going on. The chamber of secrets, the voice he had heard in the wall, but he also remembered all the time he had gone to the headmaster for leadership and advice; his visions, the tri-wizard tournament.

"Like why you seem to be great pain the last two nights and each time the epicentre of it was your scar," Dumbledore humoured.

"Oh!" Harry said shortly.

"Oh what?"

"Er," Harry stalled, "I'm not sure whether I should tell you?"

"Why don't we see and if necessary I'll remove that certain memory. You may like to now once you return to your own time, I will be placing a memory charm upon the school and Harry Granger shall be erased," Dumbledore enlightened Harry.

"Well," Harry acquainted, "I got this scar from when…" Harry paused, talking about future Voldemort was a vacillating theme, but if he said dark wizard it wouldn't exactly require N.E.W.T. standard brains to decode who he meant. "From when Voldemort," he continued telling his tale, "attacked me as a child. The only reason I survived was because my mum, Lily, sacrificed herself for me." Harry swallowed, battling threatening tears; Lily who was so young, so carefree and innocent, whose life was coming to an end. "For thirteen years the wizarding world was free from his presence but a year ago he came back. He used a potion to resurrect himself with the help of a traitor. A traitor who cold his best friends to Voldemort," Harry voice filled with vengeance as he spoke of Wormtail. He took a deep breath willing himself to calm down. "My scar hurts when Voldemort feels strong emotions and," Harry stopped, "sometimes," he carried on slowly, "I get visions about him."

Distance shouting could be heard from afar as Dumbledore stared at Harry with a concoction of sympathy, sorrow, horror and pain. "Did you get a vision last night?" Dumbledore asked, "What did you see?" Dumbledore regretted the words as soon as they erupted from his voice.

"Yes," Harry said shakily his voice trembling, the memories of his dreams flooding his mind like rolling fumes of water cascading into the river. "Lots of people getting hurt, people dying." The cries, screams and cruel laughter were a torrent of hurt, grief, and guilt gushing through his nerves and bloodstream. "People killing their own families and children then wake up to find out what they've done," Harry looked straight into the deep shades of blue, no longer twinkling. "Children paying for the fault of adults," Harry ended whispering, his face bearing the saddest expression Dumbledore had ever seen. Harry stared at him without a word, without even blinking but silent tears spill over his cheek and keeps coming.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading and please review. In case you're thinking I like ending on a sad note, it's just that seemed like a very good point to stop.


	20. The Calm Before The Storm

Author's Note: Thank you to all readers and anyone who reviewed; they are greatly appreciated. Sorry there are such long intervals between new chapters but everything has been a bit tipsy-topsy-turvy lately and is likely to be upside down for a while yet. I suppose it's on with the chapter.

Disclaimer: I am simply borrowing the magic of JK Rowling's magical world for my own entertainment and comfort and have no desire to claim them as my own.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The calm before the storm

When Harry was released from Hospital Wing two day later, the Christmas holidays had already begun. Pending the absence of the majority of its student body, the corridors were deserted and quiet as Harry walked along on his way to Gryffindor tower. Skirting the Library Harry sighed; his time in the past was running out and he was no closer to solving the mystery of the black veil. Giving the Fat Lady the new password, _yuletide, _Harry clambered through to the common room.

Her back turned to the entrance and homework spread over several tables, Lily concentrated at her homework, oblivious to her surroundings. Harry smiled faintly at the scene, a wave of nostalgia washing through him as he saw the resemblance between his mother and best friend, Hermione Granger.

"Harry!" a shout interrupted.

Harry tuned his attention to the beaming faces of James, Sirius and Remus as they approached him. Peter, somewhat reluctantly, tagging behind. "What are you doing here?" James asked cheerfully, "I thought Madam Pomfrey wasn't letting you out till tomorrow."

"I persuaded her to let me out early class but I still had to promise not do anything dangerous or strenuous," Harry explained. "She only agreed because there aren't any classes going on and I'm banned from flying for another week," Harry continued apologetically.

"She didn't?" Sirius said in mock horror.

"I agree completely," Lily said, having parted from her work and joined them. "It's dangerous and cold. The last thing we want if for Harry to have a relapse."

Unlike before Harry's identity had been discovered, neither James nor Sirius retorted to her comment, mutually agreeing that Harry's health was more important than any game of quidditch.

Settling among the disarray of armchairs, crowding near the fire, the teenagers conversed. Harry noted it was a little like sitting in one of the many debates of Hermione and Ron. Hermione was like Lily and Remus, seeing schoolwork as a vital component of life and shared a compassionate love towards book. Sirius and James on the other hand were like Ron, having a loyal addiction towards quidditch.

Harry was a mixture of them both. He loved quidditch and flying but also saw there were other values of life and though he would never enjoy it, recognised the importance of lessons and education.

Peter never openly said anything, agreeing along to whatever was said. His presence was barely registered and easily ignore. He never seemed to mind being shadowed by his friends or hold an opinion of his own.

Several times, James, Remus and Sirius gave shared a look before fleetingly glancing at Peter. Harry easily deciphered the meaning behind it. Whilst they had been making easy conversation, the topic they blatantly wanted to discuss had to be put on hold. Peter was the only one present who did not have knowledge of Harry's true identity. They were the only Gryffindors who opted to stay for the Christmas holidays.

It was nearing lunchtime when the solution revealed itself. "What time is it, Moony?" Sirius asked, "I'm starving."

"Almost lunchtime," he replied. "Why don't Peter and I go down to the kitchens for some food, then we can eat up here?" Remus suggested, giving James a pointed look.

"Yeah," James readily agreed, catching on. "You can take the invisibility cloak. You know where it is, don't you, Wormtail?"

"I'll go and get it," Peter readily obeyed, scuttling towards their dormitory.

"Are you sure you're alright with this, Moony," James asked, "I can always go instead."

Moony nodded, "You can always fill me in later. I know you've been waiting to talk to Harry for ages. I'll try to take as long as possible."

"Thanks, Remus," they all echoed.

Peter returned and he and Remus left the common room. They waited silently till the portrait door was completely closed then everyone turned expectedly towards Harry. "First," Harry begun, "I can't tell you anything about the future." Sirius, particularly, cast a disappointed look at this. "As much as I want to, I can't risk changing the future."

"Okay," said Lily, "if there someone you can't or don't want to tell us, just say so."

"So what has Remus told you so far?" Harry wondered.

"That you're here looking for information concerning a Black Veil. What is a Black Veil? Why do you want information about it?" James queered.

"Well," Harry gulped and took a deep breath, "I'm not sure what the Black Veil is, it's in the Ministry. I need information about it to help rescue a close friend of mine," Harry worded carefully. "I really can't tell you anything more but it's very important for me to find this information."

"What type of information are you looking for?" Lily questioned. "Is it a charm or something?"

"I'm not sure," Harry said, truthfully. "I think it's some kind of incantation."

"If the Veil at the Ministry," Sirius wondered, "what were you doing there? Even if you did find what you want, how are you going to access the Veil."

"I—I haven't though of that," Harry replied blankly. "But that doesn't matter. I'll think of a way when I get back, even if I have to duel every single Auror and the Minister himself," he stated determinedly.

"I take it's a very special friend your helping," Lily commented.

"Yes," Harry said softly, "and nothing going to stop me saving him." Harry remembered with a shudder, that it was his determination to save his godfather, which led Sirius to his death.

"You still haven't said what you were doing in the Ministry in the first place," James diverted, seeing the guilt and sadness in his son's.

"I never said I was ever there."

"But the Veil thing there," James said confused.

"Yes," Harry skirted. "Look, I really can't tell you why I was at the Ministry but I definitely wish I'd never set foot into that place."

Realising this was a touché subject, Sirius drove the conversation away from it. "So do you know me in the future?" he asked cheerfully.

"Of course he does," James exclaimed.

They turned to face Harry, who grinned. "Sirius, you're the best godfather I could ever have."

"Me?" Sirius said faintly in disbelief, "godfather?" He stood still for a minute comprehending the meaning of that before he spontaneously hugged James and cheered loudly.

James joined in with his best mate enthusiasm whilst Lily watched, shaking her head. "So, Harry," Sirius said ecstatically, sitting down again. "When do Lily and James finally admit that they're crazy about each other? When's the wedding?"

"Sirius!" Lily and James chorused, blushing.

"Come on," Sirius said exasperated, "you're son is sitting right in front of you," he emphasised this by gesturing energetically towards Harry. "Hey Harry," Sirius' eyes sparkled with life, "is mummy and daddy always this shy?"

Luckily, Sirius did not expect an answer as he laughed mercilessly as red faces of James and Lily. Harry watched all this silently, trying to ignore the pang of loneliness and guilt. When everyone had clamed down, Lily asked, "How long are you going to be here, in the past?"

"I'll be leaving just after new year," Harry replied solemnly.

"Can't you stay a little longer?" James asked sadly.

Harry shook his head, "I don't even know how or who sent me back in time. I just know I had only five weeks of time to find out what I need."

"Maybe it was the girl who appeared in the astronomy tower," Lily pondered philosophically.

"Maybe."

There was a moment of silence as they were each wrapped up in their individual thoughts.

"Why are you so good at duelling, Harry?" Lily said spontaneously.

"I'm not," Harry responded.

They all looked at him incredulously. "Harry, you beat several death eaters in a duel. You can throw of the Imperious curse and Cruciatus curse. You also produced a corporeal patronus. Even most grown wizards can't do that, Harry," Lily clarified.

"It was all luck," Harry said defensively. "I could have just as easily been killed."

"It wasn't luck, Harry," James debated. "We've seen you in Defence lessons. You're a brilliant and powerful fighter," he ended finally.

"Harry," Lily voiced hesitantly. "In the future, in your time, is…is You-Know-Who still…" she faltered.

The three teens regarded Harry with a mixture if apprehension, hope and fear. Harry swallowed. _What could he say? If he didn't say anything they'll presume yes, which is right. But not entirely, then he'd have to explain the resurrection during the third task. How he had been part of it, how he was the boy-who-lived. _Harry was scared. Afraid they'd fear him; when found out he had been the cause of Cedric and Sirius' death; that his blood, the protection Lily had left him at the cost of her own life was running through Voldemort's veins. "I…I…" Harry closed his eyes, blocking out his family. "I can't tell you," he said lamely opening his eyes again, "but," Harry continued, "the Wizarding World will be freed of darkness."

James, Lily and Sirius shared a look, unsure on how to interpret what Harry just said. "I'm not here about Voldemort," Harry said steering them away from that train of conversation. "I here to get information about the Black Veil."

"We'll help of course," Sirius offered. "All of us, Remus included." Lily and James nodded.

"Thanks guys." Harry smiled. "Remember, you mustn't let anyone know I'm from the future. I know there aren't many students left in the castle and I'll be gone before the end of the holidays, but it's vital no one else finds out. Besides you guys and Remus, Dumbledore's the only person who knows."

"Not even Peter?" Sirius asked.

"No," Harry said fiercely. Seeing the hurt look on his father and godfather's face, Harry quickly amended what he just said. "I know you're all very good friends and I'm sorry you've got to keep something from him but time travel is not only dangerous but illegal. Even you lot weren't suppose to know about me."

"Alright," James agreed. "You have our word."

"Thanks."

On cue, the entrance to Gryffindor Tower opened and closed. Out of nowhere, Remus and Peter appeared, having now taken of the invisibility cloak. Levitated in front of them was a large plate holding a small mountain of sandwiches, a platter of cake and a pitcher of pumpkin juice.

"What took you so long?" Sirius remarked, grabbing a sandwich.

"The elves were busy getting lunch ready in the great hall," Remus replied.

"There aren't that many people staying this year, is there?"

He shook his head, "Most family and parents want their children back home for Christmas, especially with You-Know-Who."

"But Hogwart's the safest place," Harry remarked, "Surely they want their kids to be as safe as possible."

"Families want to stick together," Lily explained. "No one knows if they'll be around for the next holiday."

"Why are you lot here then?" Harry asked.

"My parents aren't exactly loving," Sirius snorted. "I've always spent Christmas either at Hogwarts or at James."

"We didn't want to leave you here on your own," Lily said.

Harry was taken back with Lily's answer. Sure, Hermione and Ron had always missed out on Christmas with their family for him. Hermione had even at the last minute cancelled her skiing trip to be with him, but Harry never expected people to care so much about him. Maybe, it was spending 10 years locked in a cupboard and never having anyone to care for him that made Harry think he was not important. Or it may be that everyone but a handful saw him as the boy-who-lived, not Harry James Potter.

"Thanks," Harry did not know what else to say.

"It's alright," Lily reassured him sensing his discomfort.

"Do you miss your friends, Harry," Remus asked.

"Loads, especially Ron and Hermione."

"What are they like?"

"Well, Ron's mad about quidditch and Hermione loves book. It's obvious they're mad about each other," Harry smiled fondly at his memories, "they just won't admit it. There always arguing but me and Ginny, Ron's sister, bet they're going to end up together before they leave Hog…School. We've been through a lot and Ron and Hermione have always stuck by me, no matter what the danger or risk."

"Sounds a bit like Prongs and Lil here," Sirius grinned.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. He checked his watch for the time, 13:45. "I'm going to the library," Harry announced getting up.

"I'll come with you," Lily offered.

"Met to," followed Remus.

"And us." James and Sirius.

They all turned to look at Peter, who look confused at the sudden eagerness of their friends to read and spend time with Harry and Lily. He did not understand the sudden friendship between Harry and James. He, however, did know something more than a duel had happened up in the astronomy tower a few nights ago. "I'll come of course," Peter said quickly.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading and I hope you've enjoyed it. Sorry the paces of the last few chapters have been so slow, but Harry needed to know and interact with the marauders minus Peter and Lily, before we reach the big climax. Next chapter brings an important discovery. Please R+R.


	21. The Gift

**Author's Note:** Apologies for taking almost a millennium to update but any time I've had away from school has been completely messed up with exams and my dad was involved in a traffic accident. Thankfully, he's fine. Thanks for all you're reviews, patient and sticking with me. Sorry that's this chapter so short but I really wanted to update.

**Disclaimer**: I am simply borrowing the magic of JK Rowling's magical world for my own entertainment and comfort and have no desire to claim them as my own.

**Chapter Twenty-Eight:** The Gift

To the suspicion of the Madam Pince, the librarian, Harry and his friends spent many hours researching in the library. However, Harry was fast losing hope and despite the vast resources Hogwarts library had to offer; very little information could be found about the Veil.

It was late when Harry bid his friends, (minus Peter whom had been called home by his mother for his grandmother had taken ill,) goodnight on Christmas Eve. Lying in the warmth, silvery moonlight which illuminated the room as Harry watched fluttering snow through the window. He had only one week's worth of time before he was due to return to his own time and he was no closer to saving Sirius then before. Although he had gain precious memories and a priceless relationship with the family he had never before known, Harry could not help but feel bitterly disappointed, anguished and slightly cheated. His only aim had been to regain his godfather but instead he had had to face more trouble and death eaters then he did as the boy-who-lived.

Drifting of into the welcoming hands of sleep, Harry did not acknowledge a sudden bright twinkle of light in the sky, the appearance of Fawkes or a silvery gold radiance encasing him.

Somewhere, in a location where neither place nor time existed, a stranger watched the swan size phoenix deliver her gift to the black-haired boy. She was not meant to be here and neither was the gift legal. This unknown girl had watched the saviour of light since the very beginning of his life, and though interference was highly banned and heavily punished by her father's laws, she did not regret or feel guilty at what she had done and was doing. She watched anonymously as a scene unfolded in front of her.

_Harry found himself being flung through a spinning whirl of blurred colours. This strange vortex was pulling him faster and faster towards its centre. The feeling and pull was similar to the one of a portkey and it was with panic and fear did Harry remember what happened the last time he had taken a surprise portkey. Almost as though expecting a graveyard to appear around him, Harry struggled against the pulling grip. _

_Suddenly, Harry found himself tumbling to the ground as the whirlpool released him. Picking himself off the ground Harry saw the tornado dissolved before his eyes into the air._

_Blinking and rubbing his eyes Harry wondered where he was. Looking around, he could not help but feel awed at the magnificent hall he was in. The walls were plain and pure white with golden pillars. The ceiling was a dome shape and was too white, though this time it was laced with a flowery gold pattern. The only entrance to the room was a large oak door, there were no windows. Despite the large size of the room it was virtually empty besides a stand on a raised platform facing the door. _

_Although he had been panicked and scared, Harry could not help but feel no fear in this room. It had an aura of safety, innocence and purity. Harry felt he would not come to any harm here. _

_Only a little hesitant, Harry walked towards the stand and was surprised to find on it a single closed book. It gave Harry the impression the book had never been opened or used. The edges were crinkled with age and its cover was a plain deep green bearing the title in simple silver writing. There wasn't an author mentioned, just the name of the book: Time. _

_Harry heart skipped a beat as he stared at the book, not quite daring to believe what he was seeing. For several seconds, Harry remained motionless and silent. Then slowly, his hand reached out to open the book. Upon making contact with the cover, the room faded._

_Misty grey clouds now enclosed around Harry and where the book had been was nothing but air. A mixture of dread and apprehension coursed through Harry's veins. Where was he? What had happened? Shadows of the last looks upon Sirius and Cedric crept into the edge of his mind. _

_Turning round, Harry noticed that the fog was thinning. When Harry could finally see where he was, he realised that he was surrounded with shelves upon shelves of books. It all looked very familiar. His mind registered that he was in the library of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. _

_Questions filtered into in his mind, how, what, why? Before he had a chance to ponder a glowing light caught Harry's eye and attention. A book was emitting a soft gold glow. Harry moved to investigate when it levitated itself of the bookshelf, floated to a stop less then a quarter of a metre in front of Harry, hovering just over a metre from the ground. _

_This book held he same look of age as the last time. It was royal blue in colour with golden lettering. Harry gasped as he read the title and the author of the book._

'_The Dawn before Time' by Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw. _

_As though being blown by a light wind the book opened and its pages fluttered coming to the rest on chapter three. It was titled, 'The Black Veil'. _

Back in Gryffindor common room a black-haired boy awoke with a start. Sitting up, he breathed rapidly taking short shallow breaths. The room was dark, the moon having gone behind a cloud. Running a shaky hair through his head, Harry thought back to what his dream had shown him.

Throwing his bed covers aside Harry jumped out of the bed, excitement coursing through him. Not even bothering to put on a dressing gown, Harry put his shoes on and ran out of the room. Opening the portrait door, Harry skid to a stop.

Standing there, surprised but nevertheless beaming was three of his best friends: Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Ginny Weasley.

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading. Please review and tell me what you think. Do you want Hermione, Ron and Ginny in the past or not because that can be easily changed. I, myself, am in two minds about it.

**Competition:** I need a name for the strange girl who keeps popping up. I've got an idea what I want to call her but it's not very good and I'm open to suggestion. Ideally, I would like the name to mean **star**/**time**/**heaven**/**protector**/**time **or **wish**. It can be a name from any language. Please leave your e-mail address as well as your entry and is possible what the name means. Thanks.

**Next Chapter:** The Guardian of Time


	22. Dawn Before Time

Author's Note: A million apologies for the long long wait. Although you may find this hard to believe, but I will finish this story before release of Deathly Hallows, something I am most excited about. All I can say now is a thousand thanks for your loyalty and I hope you enjoy this chapter, now that it has finally arrived.

**Chapter 29: The Dawn Before Time**

Harry struggled to keep his balance as a tearful Hermione enveloped him in a straggling hug. "Harry, I'm been so worried about you," she cried and to Harry's horror, burst into tears.

"I'm fine," Harry said, somewhat confused. "Why wouldn't I be? What are you lot doing here? How did you get here?" Harry fired off rapidly as Ginny pulled Hermione of him.

Ginny smiled weakly at Harry, "We're not completely sure ourselves, it all happened very quickly." A creak on the staircase silenced them. They all breathed a sigh of relieve as Luna, a small black cat belonging to a friend of Lily, emerged into the common room.

"Let's go and talk somewhere else," Harry suggested quietly.

"What about the room of requirements?" Hermione proposed.

They all agreed to the idea and like noisy mice crept out of the common through the dark deserted corridors of Hogwarts. "Is Filch still here?" whispered Ron.

"Yeah," Harry replied, "not Mrs Norris though."

"What about the teachers?" Ginny asked, "are they all still the same?"

"Some of them are like McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout. There's a different potions and care of magical creatures teacher though. And the defence position still jinxed," he added. Harry stopped as they reached the room and his friends stood aside as he strolled up and down three times, "We need somewhere to talk, where no one else will hear will hear us."

A small wooden door appeared and the room of requirements did not fail to awe when the door was pulled open. The room had shifted into a medium sized room decorated in Gryffindor red. Scattered in front of an ornate, roaring fireplace were four large armchairs. Besides all this, on a small table, were four steaming mugs of hot chocolate and marshmallows. Once they had all settled down comfortably, Harry began. "So, what are you lot doing here? And how?"

His three friends glanced at each other, uncertain of what to say. "We don't really know ourselves," Hermione explained, "everyone's been very worried about you, we had no idea where you had gone."

"Where I'd gone?" Harry repeated, perplexed, "I'm at the Dursleys, remember?" It had not occurred to Harry that his being in the past would affect his presence in the future. Then again, he puzzled, the holidays were not yet over and there was no reason someone would notice his disappearance, the Dursley for one would have cared.

Before he could ponder anymore, Ginny answered, "Dumbledore went to check on you at the Dursleys."

"What?" Harry sat up alarmed, "Dumbledore went to the Dursleys?"

"It was about a month ago."

"A month?" Harry echoed, shocked. True, he had spent almost a month in the past but that time had gone so quickly, so much had happened that he had not really registered the time past.

"Yes," Hermione said, "now do you understand why everyone's been frantic. Mrs Figg noticed a strange light at Privet Drive the night you disappeared and Dumbledore wanted to make sure you were okay. Dumbledore also noticed something strange with the protection charms round the Dursleys. Of course, when he arrived, you were gone and the Dursleys had no idea where you were."

"Mum went ballistic," Ron grinned then quickly sobered, "we'd all thought the Death Eaters must have gotten hold on you. Everyone's looked all over for you, especially Remus."

"How is he?" Harry asked worriedly; he had not communicated with former professor since their meeting at Kings Cross.

"Tearing himself up with guilty," Ginny sighed gravely, "he thinks he's let Sirius down. You know, he'd promised Sirius to look after you if anything happened. But…"

Harry stared into the flickering oranges of red of the fire, guilt coursing through him. "It's not your fault," Hermione comforted, "I'm sure he'll understand."

Harry tried to smile. "So, what else has happened then?"

"Well," Ron said indignantly "there's the lot of us being grilled by the entire order. And mum of course. They'd though we must have known where you were and was keeping it a secret."

"Sorry," Harry said apologetically.

"You're okay," Ron grinned, "just wait till mum gets her hands on you. She's going to kill you."

"And us to," Ginny reminded him. Ron's grin slid of his face as though stink sap had just exploded over him. "We didn't exactly get a chance to tall her where we were going."

"How did you get here?" Harry asked again.

"It was all very sudden. We were all at headquarters trying to figure out where you were when this strange girl appeared."

"What?" Harry cut in, "did she have sort of goldish-yellow hair, blue eyes and wore a silvery sort of dress?"

"Yeah," Hermione readily agreed, "do you know who she is?"

Harry shook his head, "I've seen her a few times but only briefly."

"Can we trust her?" Hermione asked cautiously, "she could be trap." As she said this, she cast a sideway glance at Harry, realising very well the memories of the Voldemort's last trap was still fresh and raw Harry's mind.

To her relief, Harry didn't seem to react badly. He shook his heads, "No. I think we can trust her. She'd helped me loads of times, beside, is she wanted to hurt me, why would she send me into the past so I could save Sirius."

"Save Sirius?" Ginny said, "What do you mean save Sirius?"

"How can we?" Ron continued, "He fell through that veil thing didn't he?"

"We can," Harry said determinedly, "I've been doing a load of research since I got here. Apparently, the black veil can be used for travelling through time; you just need to correct incantation."

"So," Hermione concluded, catching onto Harry's line of thought, "because Sirius didn't have the right incantation, he's just trapped in the veil."

"And if I can find the right spell then it means that I can go and look for him."

"But Harry," Hermione said sadly, "even if you did have the incantation, it doesn't mean for certain that Sirius can be saved."

Harry eyes flashed, "I've got the try."

"Harry," Ginny said gently, "its not your fault Sirius is dead."

"He's not dead," Harry shouted impulsively. He saw the hurt look on Ginny's face, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she smiled. "We'll help you, won't we?"

"Of course," Hermione and Ron steadily agreed.

"Thanks guy," Harry said gratefully, feeling much lighter than he had in the past few weeks.

"Bye the way Harry," Ron said, "you don't have any ideas how we're going to get back do you?"

"Not really, but I think that strange girl we saw will send us back. Not long after I got here she said I've only got five weeks in the past. This is the last week."

"I wonder who she is," Hermione pondered, "she must be very powerful to be able to manipulate time so easily."

"Does Dumbledore know you're here?" Harry asked abruptly.

"He's here?" Ginny asked surprised, "What year is it?"

"It's 22nd December 1976."

"That means..."

"Yeah, my parents, Sirius and the marauders are all here as well. They're in sixth year."

"Do they know?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Harry nodded, knowing full well he was placing himself in the firing line of one of Hermione's lecture.

"Harry!" Hermione said exasperated, "you know how dangerous time travel is. Changing the future could be disastrous. If anyone found out, you could be thrown into Azkaban. And that's not the worse that could happen…"

"Hermione," Harry interrupted, "it wasn't exactly my choice. That strange girl told them and, it's been much easier this way."

"But…"

"Look Hermione, I haven't told them anything important. Haven't had much chance actually, with the death eaters…"

Hermione looked horrified, "The death eaters know."

"No," Harry quickly assured her. "Only Dumbledore, James, Lily, Sirius and Remus know. I haven't told them anything major, about Voldemort or Wormtail."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry Harry," she said suddenly, surprising him.

"What for?"

"It must have been so hard on you, not letting them know. And having to round Wormtail as well."

Harry silently agreed, reflecting back on the death eaters' capture, the marauders accusation, the midnight duel and the visions. "We didn't really get on at first but now it's much better."

Sensing something was not quite right, Ginny asked "What happened Harry?"

Harry looked from Ginny, to Hermione and then to Ron, each awaiting to hear his tale. Harry felt a rush of gratitude as he recalled their unwavering loyalty and preparation to stand by him, no matter what the danger. The listened attentively as Harry unfolded his tale. He spoke of everything from that fateful night he was hit by the shooting star. He told of the dementors, the death eaters' kidnap, his hurt and disappointment in the marauders, of Lily's friendship and finally the dream just before bumping into them. "I was just about to go to the library when you lot arrived," Harry finished.

"I've heard of that book," Hermione remarked, "but it was lost years ago." She suddenly understood, "That's why you had to go back in time to save Sirius."

They all sank into silence, the fire flickering gently, casting a warm orange glow over them as they sat, each of them pondering over their own thoughts. The last month had brought all four of them different experience and emotional turmoils and hopefully each of them had matured because of it. As they reflected back, a deep understanding, as though there was an invisible line connecting them all, was etched between them.

"What do we do know?" Ron wondered aloud, breaking the spell.

"I think we best go and see Dumbledore," Harry suggested.

"We should," Ginny agreed, "but it's probably best in the morning. It's only three in the morning you know."

"I suppose. We'll see the Headmaster in the morning. Why don't we go to the library to see if we can find that book in Harry's dream?"

The others agreed but it was with reluctant that they abandoned their comfortable positions by the fire. They were just about the leave when a small tingle by the fireplace caught their attention. Harry gasped. There lying on the table was the book. With feelings of both excitement and apprehension, Harry lifted the book. As though reading his thoughts, the book automatically flickered open to the correct chapter. Together, they read:

_**Chapter Three: The Black Veil **_

_The black veil is a legendary object which possesses the ability to allow someone or something to travel through time. It is also said that as long as the user has the incantations, the Black Veil can be used to manipulate time and create access to the realm of the dead._

_There are many legends surrounding the Black Veil. It is believed that the Veil has existed from the very beginning of time, created by a dark force during the creation of the Earth and when the realms of the living and the realms of the dead were established. Witches and wizards across the world soon became obsessed with this mysterious object, convinced and determined that it was the way to eternal life or reunion with loved ones. Many battles broke over the ownership of this Veil, blood spilt and lives lost. Finally, a young witched called Aurora realised the dark energy surrounding the Veil and casted it away. Using her magic, she eradicated all knowledge of the Veil assistance but sadly died in her efforts as the use of such extensive, powerful magic drained her life. _

_Thousand of years later, the Veil was rediscovered and ever since, wizards and witches across the world have been fascinated by it. The incantations to use the Veil have been lost since Aurora banished the Veil but another legend surrounds the location of these incantations. It is said that in a placed known as the Dawn Before Time lives a book, the book of time. This book is said to hold the secrets of time, including the incantations to activate the Black Veil. However, to reach this book, the seeker must prove him or herself worthy and in order to so this, the seeker must pass through a series of challenges. If failed, he or she will become trapped; unable to go forward or return. To date, the existences of such a place or book have not been verified._

_Anyone wishing to seek this book must be forewarned that the Black Veil is an object of dark magic and will bring neither eternal life of glory. The course of time must pass and it does not do to dwell on the past. _

As they finished reading, Harry's friend looked at him with a mixture of uncertainty, fear and hope. This book offered an opportunity to save Harry's godfather but the risk it entailed did not seem to counter balance the goodness in this scheme. Before he could say or do anything, the book vanished in a glitter of lights.

Author's Note: Hope you've enjoyed this long awaited chapter. Thanks for reading. Please read and review. Sincerely yours, starlightsuprise.


	23. The Test of True Sincerity

**Author's Note: **Hi again! There should be approximately 5-7 chapters of this length remaining till the end of this fiction. Thanks for all you're support so far and I hope you I will continue. Enjoy this chapter – its pretty fast-paced.

**Chapter Thirty: The Test of True Sincerity **

"Harry," Hermione was first to speak.

"Sorry," Harry apologised as he made his way to leave. "I need some time to think," and before anyone could stop him, he left the room.

"Poor Harry," Ginny said quietly.

"Yeah," Ron agreed, "he was so hopeful that the book would contain everything he needed. What do you think he's going to do?"

"He's going to try," Hermione said with a soft sigh, "no matter what the risks, as long as there's a chance he can save Sirius, he's going to try."

"That's what makes Harry so special," Ginny said, "he's so completely selfless."

Silvery shades of light illuminated the young adult sat on the windows ledge, highlighting his body so that its outline had an eerie faint glow. Harry stared out at the twinkling stars glittering in the deep dark blue sky, his hands wrapped around his knees which were drawn up against his chest. He was so confused…he couldn't' understand…he couldn't understand why it was so hard…all he wanted was someone who cared…someone to love, but……

Harry gave a soft sigh as he wondered what he should do. It was not a question whether he was prepared to risk everything to save Sirius, but, all the while, the prophecy lingered on his mind. Fine, if he managed to reach the book of Time and could save Sirius. However, failing would not only mean not being able to save Sirius, but it will be condemning the world into darkness. It was he, and he only, who could defeat Voldemort. As much as he didn't like it, he was the boy-who-lived, the chosen one.

Additionally, Hermione, Ron and Ginny would never let him go alone. Past experiences have taught him that. Yet, he had vowed never to be the cause of another friend's death.

"Sirius," Harry whispered aloud looking up the shining full moon, "what should I do?"

"Go." Harry stared. He tuned round and saw Ginny. "Go, Harry, go to the Dawn before Time. You know very well you'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't, so go."

"It's complicated," Harry struggled to explain.

Ginny walked up to him and took his hand into her. "Do you know why I like you so much Harry?"

Dumbfounded, Harry shook his head.

She smiled. "I like you Harry, not because you're the boy-who-lived, not because you're good-looking or because you're a famous and powerful wizard. I like you Harry because you'll always choose to do what's right, you'll stand up for what you don't think is right, you don't allow others to intimidate you and mostly because you can never stand by and watch someone get hurt. I admire your courage so much. When I'm with you Harry, I can face up to Voldemort and death eaters. Because I have one hundred percent faith and trust that you'll do your best to protect us all."

"So do we," Hermione and Ron emerged. "That's why you're going to save Sirius."

"And we'll be with you every step of the way," Ron promised.

Harry had no words to express his gratitude for their support.

Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were in the great hall having breakfast when the marauders and Lily appeared. They had already been to see Dumbledore earlier that morning and explained the situation. Knowing Dumbledore would dissuade them from seeking the Book of Time, Harry did not inform him of his latest discoveries. The remainder of last night had been spent of finding out how to enter the Dawn of Time.

"Morning Harry," Lily greeted him, "who are your friends?"

"Morning guys. These are my friends from the future. Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and his sister Ginny," Harry introduced, pointing to each one of them in turn.

"Hi," they all smiled.

"Why have you all come back in time?" Lily queried.

"To help Harry of course," Hermione answered.

"The black veil thing that given us such a headache," James said.

"Yeah," Ron said, casting Harry a worried look.

"We think we've found something," Harry said quickly before anyone could again question him about his connection with the veil.

"What?" Remus said excitedly.

Harry shot Hermione a questioning look. Four weeks in their acquaintance had taught Harry that they would insist on coming with them and Harry did not want to put anyone else in danger. To his surprise, Hermione returned with an encouraging smile and nodded.

"Well," he began hesitantly, "the smell we've been looking for is in a book in this place called the Dawn before Time."

"Where?" Sirius and James repeated.

"The Dawn before Time, that's all we found out. But, to get to this book you have to pass through a series of challenges, and…and if you fail, you sort of get trapped there forever."

"Are you going to go?" Lily asked quietly.

Silent, then, "Yes, I am."

"Harry."

"I have to."

"No, you don't," Lily argued. "It's too dangerous. What if you fail? What if you can never come back again?"

"I'm sorry Lily," Harry said softly, "I have to go."

"Then we're coming with you," James said. Remus and Sirius nodded unanimously in agreement.

"No you not," Harry said loudly.

"If you can, so can we," James countered determinedly.

"Didn't you listen?" Harry said exasperated. "There every chance you won't be able to come back."

"What about you? If you can choose, so can we."

"You're not going!"

"Yes we are!"

"No!" It was Hermione who spoke. She looked calmly at each one of the marauders and Lily. "You can't go. It's too dangerous and if anything happens it could jeopardise the future. Hasn't it occurred to you what will happen if anything goes wrong and you get trapped in the Dawn before Time? Harry is your son and his existence depends on you."

Understanding drawn upon the marauders and Lily and a tense silence crept into the hall. "Fine," Lily finally said in resignation, "we won't go with you but, be careful."

"Of course I will be," Harry promised.

It was just before lunch when Harry and his future friends gathered the empty charms classroom, preparing to embark on the adventure which lay ahead awaiting. They had not informed the marauders or Lily of their time of departure, unwilling to risk their safety if they decided to follow. What they did not know of was that the four Gryffindors had tailed them silently since breakfast.

"Are you sure you won't to come," Harry questioned his friends for what must have been the twelfth time. "You don't have to."

"Harry!" Ginny cried out in frustration. "We're coming, we've said that a thousand times by now. We want to!"

"It'll be fine," Hermione comforted. "Is everyone ready?"

They all nodded. Nervous but determined, the four formed a circle and linked hands. Closing their eyes, they focussed their thoughts on their desire to enter the Dawn of Time, their wish to see the Book and Time and finally, their hope to save Sirius. That was the key to the Dawn of Time; to focus your thoughts of getting there.

A delicate breeze blew around them as their bodies each began glowing, surrounded in a different colour of soft radiance. Harry's light was green, Ron's red, Hermione's blue and Ginny pink's. The four colours combined and in a flash of blazing white light, disappeared.

Outside a majestic golden gate appeared a glitter of different lights which glimmered and formed the bodies of eight teenagers. Harry stumbled slightly as he hit the floor. "Where are we?" he wondered aloud, gaining his balance. "What are you doing here?" he demanded spotting his parents, godfather and former teacher.

"We want to help," James defended. "We know it's dangerous but we can't let you go and face danger."

"You're our friend, our son," Lily said. "It's our job to keep you safe."

Harry was about shout back when Ginny laid a calming hand on him. "Its to late know, whatever you say," she reasoned, "all we can do know is give it out best and pass through the challenges."

"What are these challenges?" Remus questioned.

Before anyone could respond, a dark shadow appeared over them. Standing just before the gates was a very tall woman. She has knee length black hair, deep purple eyes and was dressed in deep forest green robes with a darker green embroidered with small silver keys. In her hand, as tall as she, was a silver staff. The rod of silver was laced with greens, pinks and blue to the very top when it looped round a scarlet gem, forming a circle. Her presence radiated an aura of power and authority.

"Who dares to intrude upon the land of time?" Her voice was cold and Harry shivered.

His friends looked expectantly at him. "I…we…" he wavered under her penetrating gaze.

"Harry Potter," she stated, "yes, I have been told to expect of your arrival."

Harry stood silent, unsure of how to respond to this revelation. However, it did not seem she expected an answer as she continued.

"Do you Harry Potter desire to enter the Dawn before Time?"

"Y..yes," Harry said.

"Harry Potter, do you understand the dangers which lie beyond this gate? Do you understand that if you fail to satisfy the land of time, your body shall reside forever in this realm? Do you Harry Potter still wish to continue forth?"

"Yes," he felt his confidence slowly return to him.

"Do you realise the possible consequence which will be bequeathed to the world shall your lone desire to save this loved one of yours fail?"

Harry hesitated, "I do."

"Yet, you agree to put aside the safety of the world in attempt to grant this dream of yours?"

"I…." Harry faltered.

"Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginerva Weasley, James Potter, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black. Entering the land of time does not guarantee your return; you may be lost in the warp of time, alone for the remainder of time. Do you all wish to continue?"

"I do," seven voices spoke unanimously.

"Do you still wish to save your godfather?"

This time Harry was sure of the answer. "Yes, I do."

To his astonishment, the lady smiled. "Very well, Harry Potter, you have proven true sincerity. As guardian of the time gate, I permit the entrance of you and friends."

The gem on her staff began to emit a red glow and with a swift wave, a stream of deep purple bubbles appeared and flew into the keyhole of the gates. With a creak, the gates swung open, darkness lying beyond.

"You must now all join hands as you step through the time gate. Remember, if you are to become separated in the time warp, then you will be lost into eternity. I wish you the best of luck."

Standing in a straight line, the Gryffindors linked hands. As one, they stepped through. The guardian watched from her position by the gate as they flew into the oblivion.

A powerful wind rushed at Harry and his friends as they flew through a disarray of colours and he tightened his grip on Ginny and Lily. Several screams echoed as a particular strong whoosh of wind separated the friends.

**A/N: **Hope you like it, I had fun writing this. Please comment on what you think and if you have any suggestions for the challenges that lay ahead. I have a gist of what I want to write but am open to any idea. Again, thanks for reading.


	24. Sincerity

**Author's Note**: Thanks to all those who have reviewed, thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy the chapter – not many left to go.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters, only the ideas.

_Reality is what refuses to go away even when I stop believing in it – Unknown _

**Chapter Thirty-One: Sincerity **

The sound of rushing footsteps reached Ron's mind. Groggily, he opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground, a bright blue cloudless sky smiling down on him. Sitting up, he found himself surrounded in a sea of scarlet spectators all screaming and shouting at him.

"Fantastic save Ron!"

"Go Gryffindor!"

"Weasley for the cup!"

Perplexed, Ron looked questioningly at Ginny who was knelt besides him, dressed in Quidditch robes. "What happened?"

"You fell of your broom – it was a fantastic save though," her excitement and joy shone. "Ron, we've won. We've won, the cups ours," she shouted.

Dozens of hands pulled Ron to his feet and hoisted him up into the air. "Weasley is out king!" they chanted, "Weasley is our king!" despite his earlier confusion, a bright grin spread across Ron as elated euphoria swelled from within him. "Go Ron, go Ron." Taking the cup from Dumbledore, Ron saw faces of all years and house looking up at him with admiration; Hermione's proud face the most eye-catching. Swept and drowning in the tides of cheers, Harry and his quest was forgotten.

It was almost dark, the Gryffindor party still in full swing. Ron was sat on the couch with his arm round Hermione, luminous with delight from spending the evening as Gryffindor's Quidditch hero.

"Ron…Ron…" an echo called. He twisted round in his seat to see who it was.

"Ginny," he gasped at a holographic image of his sister appeared. "What?"

"Ron, we need to go," the hologram urged.

"Go?" Ron repeated. "Go where?"

"Come on Ron, Harry needs our help."

"Harry?" the name stirred Ron's mind. As memories of his best friend and the time gate returned the crimson room seem to move, fading away into the distance. He was now stood in the middle of a lightless room; on the right of him was Gryffindor tower and to the left was Ginny.

"Come on Ron," Ginny urged again.

Ron stood still, his gaze torn between his sister and the cheering Gryffindor whom were all waving and beckoning him.

Ginny stood in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom with her eyes glued to the tap which led to the opening of the chamber of secrets. Icy fear coursed through her as she reached out hesitantly and with the tips of her finger lightly caressed the small engraved snake. She gasped and leapt back in fear but watched mesmerised as the entrance revealed itself. The sound of fighting could be heard and Ginny took a timid step forward. "Harry?" she called out, her voice shaking. There was no response.

"Ron?" Clutching her wand tightly, Ginny moved closer still. "Hermione?" A scream reverberated up the pipe and before she could think twice, Ginny found herself sliding down the tunnel.

Hermione stood between the magical and muggle world at King's Cross station. On platform nine and three quarters death eaters had appeared and fighting had broken out. Spells lit up the sky like fireworks on bonfire night falling over a sea of panicked children and adult.

"Let's go Hermione," her parents shouted at her from the muggle world.

"Mum, dad," Hermione argued.

"Now Hermione," her father ordered, "it's too dangerous."

"Mum…" Hermione pleaded, tears begin to stream down her face as her father pulled her away.

"We should have never let you get mixed up with all of that in the first place."

"Please mum, dad. I can't just leave Hogwarts and everyone," Hermione wrenched free from her father's grip.

"Sweetheart," her mother tried to reason, "we just want you to be safe."

"You're not going back there Hermione."

"I have to."

"No you don't. You can go back to being the normal girl you was," she persuaded.

"But I can't," Hermione cried, "I can't go back to being like I was. I'm not!"

"Hermione!"

She looked into the eyes of her parents, heartbroken, crying. "I'm sorry." Turning her back on them, Hermione ran through the magical barrier.

The bodies of Lily, Remus, Sirius and James slowly began to awaken. Rubbing her eyes, Lily sat up, closely followed by the others. "Where are we?" she wondered aloud, her voice still groggy. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah," James replied, "but I think we've lost the others."

"Where are we?" Sirius repeated.

"Don't know," Remus said, "we could do with some more light though."

On cue, the room was lit up revealing elegant white walls and a gigantic circular mirror. Standing besides the mirror was the guardian of the gate.

Immediately, the Gryffindors leapt to their feet, wands out. "What's going on?" James demanded. "Where are the others? What have you done to Harry?"

"You became separated in the time vortex," she stated simply.

"Where's Harry?" Sirius repeated.

"You and Harry belong to separate times. The two should have never met."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked cutting off Sirius.

"It has been decreed since the beginning of time that the course of time must not be interfered with. You and Harry have never been fated to meet."

"What? But, he's our son," Lily and James said perplexed and agitated.

"The future has yet to come but I can show you. This mirror, if you desire, will show you of what is to come."

"Everything?" questioned Sirius.

"The future as far as Harry's time."

"What about Harry?" Lily persisted, "What will happen to him?"

"Harry's future is his and his alone. You must understand that your presence here has put the entire world at peril." She regarded the teens closely, "Harry will not leave this portal without you but Harry must return to his own time if he is to survive."

"So we just leave?" Lily said in slight disbelief.

For a moment the four friends regarded each other silently. They knew they have unanimously come to the same decision. "Okay," James spoke for them all, "what do we have to do?"

Harry was once again standing in front of the golden gates and the mysterious guardian. "Who are you?" Harry shouted, his wand raised in a threatening manner. "What have you done to everyone else?"

She looked down at Harry wearing a warm smile. "I am Aurora." Harry gasped in surprised. "When I vanquished the time book, I became its guardian. Your friends are waiting for you." She stood aside and Harry could see beyond the golden gates was a white dome shape building, reminding him of the ancient roman architects he saw during muggle school in history books. "Along side them is the book of time, the book which holds what you seek."

"And to reach them?" Harry asked.

"You must pass me," Aurora said simply. "If you can defeat me, I will let you past. You may start when you are ready."

"Expelliarmus," Harry shouted immediately.

Aurora did not flinch, dispersing the green light with a wave of her hand. "I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that."

"Stupefy, expelliarmus," Harry jinxed in quick succession. Like before, she dissipated the rays of light with the slightest move of her hand.

Lifting her staff, she sent an invisible wave of energy which sent Harry sprawling to the floor. "Now we shall end this." Spinning her staff with her right hand, a deep purple light ball of light glowed, pulsating magic. Squinting at the bright light, Harry scrambled for his wand, mentally whispering a prayer for the safety of his friends.

The violet orb was released from the staff, its colour filling Harry's vision. Harry closed his eyes.

Suddenly…

"NO, Aurora! Stop it!"

Harry opened his eyes. Materializing in swirl of silver stars was the mystical girl who seemed to appear whenever Harry was in peril. Once again, she was robed in a silvery dress which seemed more liquid then solid, her blue eyes clear oceans. A sheet of faint gold hair cascaded down her back, resting on top a delicate tiara. She smiled gently at Harry before turning to face Aurora. "Let him through Aurora."

"Eleanor," Aurora said agitated. Harry was astonished; he had seen the guardian as nothing less than cool and collected, who was this strange girl?

"Aurora."

"Eleanor, you know I can't do that." Aurora said upset, "you know the rules."

"I know. But Harry has proven himself more than worthy. You know that," Eleanor replied quietly. "We both do."

"Eleanor, if your father found out…"

"I'll take responsibility."

"Eleanor, you're in enough trouble as it is if your father found out you sent Harry to the past."

"I don't care. I know what will happen to me. "

"Eleanor."

"Aurora," Eleanor said authoritatively. Harry could not comprehend the power this young girl had over the powerful guardian. "As your princess, I demand you to let Harry Potter and I through into the timeland."

"Ellie…"

"Aurora!"

Upset but seeing no other options, Aurora complied.

**A/N:** Sorry, the chapter not as good or long as I hoped but I rushed it wanting to get something out. I have my GCSE exams starting at the end of the week and they last till mid June but I will try my best to finish of the story before the release of Deathly Hallows. Thanks for reading and please review.

I did originally think about challenges with a lot more action but I remember someone once said that the most difficult challenges are not physical and the greatest challenge of all is to be honest with ourselves. It's very easy to become lost in a world of fantasy, a world where we can control all that goes on and ensure that we never get hurt but in order to achieve that, we must live a life of lies.


	25. Back to the Future

**Author's Note**: Sorry for the long wait and thanks for all those who have reviewed and read my story do far. Only 10 days to deathly hallows – can't wait!!!!!!!!! Hope you enjoy. Lots of love, starlightsuprise

**Chapter Thirty-Two: Back to the Future**

Harry's fellow Gryffindors were gathered outside the white dome of Harry's dream anxiously waiting for his arrival. After successfully proving their sincerity, the teens found themselves outside the magisterial building, neither able to enter or exit. Above them, a delicate blue sky regarded them with a warm radiance from an unseen sun. Fresh green grass fluttered delicately in a non-existence breeze, parted only by the marble path which led to the entrance door of the dome. A sense of tranquillity was present, seeping through the layers of worries the teens felt for Harry. In silence they stood waiting, each unwilling to shatter the calm. They knew here, no harm would come to them.

The soft gentle sound of bells tinkling lightly alerted their relaxed senses. The teens warily surveyed their surrounding in attempt to locate the source of the sound; it seemed to come from all around them. A quiet creek drew their gazes to the dome building, its grand doors now slowly opening. A small figure stood in the giant doorframe, shadowed by the silhouette of the door. "Harry," they all gasped running towards him. As soon as her steeped out onto the marble path Harry found himself encircled by his friends.

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked engulfing in a tight hug.

"Are you all okay?" Harry asked in return, gently untangling himself from her.

"We're fine" Ginny said, "but we don't know where your parents, Sirius or Remus are. We thought they'd be with you."

To their surprise, Harry gave them a small smile. "They've gone home," he said simply, "back to Hogwarts."

"You okay?" Hermione said sympathetically.

The twinkling sound suddenly stopped, interrupting Harry's response. In her twirl of starry silver mist, Eleanor appeared. The glitter had yet to fade as she found herself at the point of several wands.

"Who are you?" Ron demanded defensively.

At the same time Harry shouted "Don't," rushing to Eleanor's side, "she's a friend." Curious and cautious eyes flickered between Harry and the strange girl before relaxing.

Ellie turned urgently to Harry, "We have to go," she said, her voiced laced with fear and panic. "My father has found out and his men are coming. We have to leave immediately," her word tumbled out, falling over each other as she rushed to released the. "If he finds you, all this will be for nothing. He'll wipe your memories and send you back to the future."

Panic and alarm sent adrenaline coursing through Harry. "How?" Harry said, his heart beating wildly; he was so close to saving Sirius.

Ellie grabbed Harry's left hand, "Everyone join hands," she ordered quickly. They complied and in a quick burst of light, they disappeared from the tranquil dimension.

**Privet Drive, August 22****nd**** 1996**

In the smallest bedroom of Number Four Privet drive laid a young wizard, currently sleeping. The occupants of the house were eating dinner downstairs, unaware of his presence. The last four to five weeks had been a chaotic time for more wizards had passed through the house in the past month than in the last 16 years. They had of course been searching for Harry who had one summer night vanished from existence. He was back and it would not be long before someone realised.

On queue, the doorbell rang disrupting their conversation. Cursing, Vernon Dursley abandoned his meal to answer it. "You again," he grumbled rudely. Barely acknowledging the presence of Remus Lupin and Arthur Weasley, he returned to the kitchen. Mr Dursley had learnt very well by now that challenging the wizard was a silly and pointless thing to do. Also by now, both Remus and Arthur understood that the Dursleys' hospitality was best ignored. Besides, today they were too anxious to care; Dumbledore's spell had been disturbed; there was another magical presence in the house.

The third thing to be disturbed this evening was Harry's sleep. The ringing of the doorbell had instantly awakened him. He had just realised he had returned to his aunt and uncle's home when the door swung open. Harry frowned in confusion, "Professor Lupin? Mr Weasley? What are you doing here?" The words had not fully exited his mouth when Harry found himself engulfed in a tight hug from both men. This resulted in perplexing harry even more. "Mr Weasley, what's going on?"

"Where have you been Harry?" Mr Weasley asked releasing him. "Everyone's been so worried. We couldn't find you anywhere?"

"What you mean?"

Professor Lupin gave Harry an incredulous look, "You've been missing for over a month Harry. Everyone's been frantic." Green eyes searched emerald ones. Where have you been?"

"I…I don't know what going on about?" Harry said.

Remus eyes narrowed, "Harry, what today's date?"

"Err…July 18th," his heart skipped a beat.

Lupin shared a fleeting look of worry before turning to Harry. "Okay," Harry could still detect a trace of suspicion, "we're going to headquarters Harry. Harry?"

Harry paled visibly at the thought of going back to Sirius' home. Flashing image of Sirius and the veil played in his mind.

"Harry?"

Remus voice penetrated his mind and shaking his head to clear it of the cloud of memories, Harry looked into the concerned face of his former teach. "I'm okay," he said giving Remus a small smile. "How are we getting there?"

"Dumbledore's found us a car," Mr Weasley replied. He took a glance at his wristwatch. "We better get going."

Functioning on automatic, Harry left Privet Drive and climbed into the awaiting silver car. Harry was slightly surprised to see that Mr Weasley was driving the car on the road and not in the air then remembered that it was illegal to do so. Harry stared out the window watching immaculate lawns and neat houses blur pass. His mind wandered back to Eleanor, in the dome where the book of time was held.

**Flashback **

As he travelled through the golden gates alongside Eleanor, Harry found himself in the same white building as his dreams; from the intricate designs on the wall to the book on the raised stand. Harry turned to the mystic girl besides him, "Who are you?"

She smiled at him. She was very pretty. "My names Eleanor," her voice was light and graceful, "I am the youngest daughter of King Aether."

She smiled at his confusion. "Let me explain." Raising her hand, Eleanor drew a circle in the air. In her drawn circle was an image of a dark sky, stars twinkling brightly. Harry saw the moon and the Earth. The bright blues and the greens of the Earth shined as it filled the screen, He watched mesmerised.

"At the very beginning of the creation, the world and life was very different. The Earth was peaceful and beautiful. The different between good and evil was not known, everyone was happy. This period of life became known as the Dawn before Time. Then, there was no time. People would live forever, there was no death. But then people wanted more. They became lost in greed and selfishness. Fighting broke out, many people were killed and the beauty of Earth and life became lost in time. Soon, all that was left was a desolate waste land. All the peace of Earth was lost in battle.

"No one really understands what happen afterwards but the few that was left alive was given a new chance. My people came into creation. We would be the guardians of time and life on Earth. With time, there was no eternal life. People still wanted power but life and death meant nothing lasts forever.

"I am the daughter of King Aether. My father rules over the guardians and ensure the rules and laws are kept. All my life I have watched over you Harry. It is my role as Princess Eleanor to watch over the chosen one, the savoir of light.

"I was worried about you after Sirius died. I knew about the veil and that the information was lost in the path so I sent you back in time to look for it. For a while, I was afraid that I had made a mistake. I saw you struggle to gain your parents acceptance and fight the death eaters. There was a time where I was tempted to send you back to the future but Fawkes help me lead you.

"I interfered when you were battling Aurora. I am her princess, she has to obey me."

**End of Flashback **

Back in the car, Mr Weasley and Remus Lupin were shooting worried looks at each other. Harry had been unresponsive for the entire journey and they were sure there was something Harry was not telling them; something had happened during his disappearance.

Harry was still staring listlessly out the window. His mind remembered the conversation he had had the Eleanor as she returned them to their own time.

**Flashback**

"What's going on?" Harry asked urgently.

"When I sent you to the past, I defied my father's law. It is forbidden to interfere with time. When I commanded Aurora let you through, he must have found out."

Harry took in Eleanor's fear. "What will happen now?"

"I have wipe the memories of the past," she explained, "no one will remember you or the time you spent at Hogwarts. I have sent Ginny, Hermione and Ron back to the time they disappeared. It will seem as thought they have never gone. They to will not remember the events of the past."

"What about me?" Harry said frantically.

"I'm afraid you've been gone to long. You've been missing from the wizarding world for over a month. Harry, when you return, you must not speak of what happens. No one is to know that you interfered with time. I have casted a charm so that even this information cannot be extracted from your mind through legimency. Harry what you know about the view, what you saw in the dawn of time, the book of time, you must not reveal this ever." Her voice grew urgent, "Harry, promise me, you will nevre do anything with that information but to save Sirius. Harry, promise me."

"I, I promise," Harry pledge.

"I must leave now Harry. My people will not hurt you. You are savoir of life, they will harm you."

"What about you?" Harry said.

"I'll be fine. Good Luck Harry." She smiled, kissed him on the forehead and disappeared.

**End of Flashback**

**Author's Note: **Hope you've enjoyed this.


	26. Keeping Secrets

**Author's Note**: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. Order of the Phoenix film is FANTASTIC! Only 7 days to go – YAY!

**Chapter Thirty-Three: Keeping Secrets**

Harry had drifted into a light sleep by the time the car pulled into the parking space in front of number 11 Grimmauld Place. Gently, Lupin shook him awake. By now, it was late and stars were scattered across the night sky, their twinkle lighting the road. Filled with apprehension and nerves, Harry stepped into the hallway of his late godfather's house.

He had yet to notice his surroundings when he found himself swept up into a tight hug. "Harry," Mrs Weasley sobbed, "we've been so worried. I was afraid that the…we looked everywhere….where have you been?"

Harry tried to comfort her all the while attempting to suppress his own emotions. "Mrs Weasley, I'm okay, really." Now jumbled amongst his anxiety at being inside Sirius's home, the unavoidable meeting with Dumbledore, his strong need and fear at the task ahead of him was the guilt of causing so much pain with his disappearance.

"We've all been so worried…Ron and Hermione have been frantic…oh Harry…where have you been?"

Harry's guilt tripled at the prospect of lying to the people he loved most in the world. "Mrs Weasley…"

"Ahh…Harry," a familiar voice interrupted. Harry looked up, his heart dancing with nerves, to the blue eyes of his headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Upon seeing the twinkle of his eyes, Harry recalled the last encounter with Dumbledore where he had done his best to destroy some of his most prized possessions. Since then, Harry thought, so much had happened.

"Professor," Harry acknowledged quietly, in a somewhat awkward manner

Thankfully, at that precise moment, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and the twins bounded nosily down the stairs almost knocking Harry to the floor as they embraced him in a group hug. "Where have you been?" half a dozen voices chorused.

Harry looked from one eager face to another. Harry felt suffocated by the obvious care and love they each radiate. He remembered how they had followed him without hesitation into danger, how much he had missed them and how much they sacrificed for him. He remembered Ginny's word and the love he had felt from them.

"Harry?"

Harry broke out of his reverie.

It was Remus who spoke. "Are you alright?" he asked solicitously, concern etched in his tired face.

Aware of the eyes on him, Harry nodded.

"Right, off to bed you lot," Mrs Weasley said. "It's late."

"Mum…" they whined in response.

Mrs Weasley was not one to listen to pleas. "You can talk to Harry in the morning. I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would like to speak Harry, off you go. Upstairs now."

Harry smiled weakly to assure his friends as they were shepherded away.

Harry silently followed Dumbledore into the drawing room. He tried to keep his mind clear as he caught sight of the black family tree. As he sat down in an armchair opposite, Dumbledore conjured up tea and biscuits. Remus and Mr Weasley had both left to inform the other order members of Harry's safety. Harry mumbled "thanks" as he was handed a cup of tea.

"How are you Harry?" Dumbledore's tone was at ease.

"I'm fine," Harry replied. He stirred his tea. "Pro…Professor…" he began then stopped.

"Yes Harry?" Dumbledore prompted.

Harry sat in silence, thinking. "Its…it's nothing sir," he said finally.

"What's the matter Harry?"

"Nothing," Harry paused hesitantly. "I'm okay."

Harry knew Dumbledore didn't believe him.

"Remus tells me you don't recall any events this past month," Dumbledore stated simply. "Would you like to tell me what's happened Harry?"

"I don't know," Harry lied.

Harry had not for one second expected Dumbledore to take in his lies. He remembered how pitiful he had been in hiding his mind and emotions away from Snape. He knew the only thing which was going to keep his visit to the past a secret was Eleanor's magic.

"I don't believe you Harry."

Harry looked directly at Dumbledore who looked back at him, with nothing less than care and patience. "Professor, I…I really can't tell you." Harry did not miss the hurt which briefly flickered. "I'm really sorry Professor. Its not that I don't want to, I can't," Harry finished lamely.

"Harry, if you wish, I assure you what ever you say will remain confidential. I hurt you Harry by keeping the prophecy from you." Harry was surprised by the sorrow and regret in Dumbledore. "I hope you can still trust me."

"I do," Harry said desperately. "I really can't." Harry recalled Eleanor's panic; she had broken her father's law to help him. "I'm sorry but I don't want her to get hurt."

"Who Harry?"

Harry cursed himself for letting that slip.

"Harry, does this have anything to do with Sirius?"

Harry snapped to attention. "Sirius?" the panic in Harry's voice did not need to be faked. "What about Sirius?"

Dumbledore was observing Harry closely. "Harry. If you ever want to talk, I'm always here to listen."

Harry nodded blushing and looked away.

"Well, if there is nothing you wish to say Harry, I think you're friends are eagerly waiting to speak to you, regardless of Molly's instructions," Harry was relieved to see he was smiling and smiled back.

Dumbledore was almost out of the door when Harry called, "Professor. What's going to happen about Sirius?"

"Sirius has been given a full pardon by the ministry."

"The veil…"

It was with a sad expression Dumbledore spoke, "I am afraid there is nothing anyone can do Harry. Sirius is gone."

"Can…"Harry stuttered. "What if I knew how to save Sirius Professor," he finished of in a rush.

At that moment Harry witnessed a rare occasion; Dumbledore in shocked amazement. This quickly turned to worry. "What do you mean Harry? What happened?"

"I…" Harry stammered. "If I knew how to save Sirius…"

"No Harry," Dumbledore cut him short. "The Black Veil is not safe."

Harry was taken back by the headmaster's adamant refusal. "But…"

"I'm sorry Harry. I don't know what'd happened to you but the Veil is a dangerous unknown item of magic. Dark magic," Harry had not seen Dumbledore so agitated. "Harry I want you to promise me that you won't go anywhere near the Vil. Harry, promise me you won't interfere with the Veil."

"Professor…"Harry argued.

"Harry promise me."

Harry sighed. "Professor…"

"Harry."

Harry lay silently. In the bed besides him, Ron was snoring. It was early hours of the morning before his friends had left. Harry has kept his word to Eleanor and although it took time, his friends finally accepted Harry's refusal to speak. They in turn had informed Harry for the chaotic last month.

They had grown worried after Harry stopped writing to them. When Hedwig had appeared without a letter, Remus and Tonks had gone to Privet Drive to check on him. To their horror, the Dursleys informed them Harry had been missing for almost a week. From then on, the order had been in uproar. Hermione and Ron had in turn been interrogated fiercely by Dumbledore, Remus, Moody and Mrs. Weasley but to no avail. Harry Potter had disappeared without a trace.

To prevent widespread chaos, Dumbledore had kept the information secret. The ministry did not need to know and neither did the wider public that their boy savior was missing.

Harry had told them that he knew how to save Sirius and that Dumbledore had been adamant that Harry did not venture near the Veil. Hermione, who had researched the Veil, repeated Dumbledore's concern. However, they all saw how important this was too Harry and swore to help him. They had spent the remaining of the night planning. Unsure of Eleanor and her father's action, Harry wanted to go as soon as possible. Fred and George, now both fully intrigued into the order informed them of a full meeting tomorrow at noon. That would be the best time for them to sneak out. The twins would be waiting round the corner with their new car and cast glamour charms to change their appearances. The hardest part of the plan was to locate the department of mysteries upon entering the ministry where security was tight.

Knowing he needed to be fully alert for the task ahead, Harry rolled over, suppressed the guilt at lying to Dumbledore and drifted to sleep.

**Author's Note: **Hope you enjoyed. Sorry it's a bit rushed towards the end but I want this finished before Deathly Hallows. Next Chapter – Harry has to choose between Sirius and his friends. Maximum of 2 to go, Please review.


	27. The Black Veil

**Author's Note**: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. Order of the Phoenix film is FANTASTIC! Only 5 days to go – YAY!

**Chapter Thirty-Four: The Black Veil **

It was almost noon, breakfast had been eaten and cleared away, members of the order were arriving and Harry and his friends were anxiously waiting upstairs for the meeting to begin. Harry was staring silently into a wall; Ron and Ginny were playing chess while Hermione feverishly scanning her books for anything which may come of use. It was well nearly quarter past twelve when the door to the dining room closed and a quiet fell. Even then, it was another five minute before Harry stood up and said, "Let's go."

The four under-aged wizard had last night come to the decision that regardless of the law, they would need to use magic. They each casted a disillusionment charm on themselves before tiptoeing through the house to the front door. Harry silent opened the door and feeling excited but inevitably apprehensive and fearful they left the safe cocoon of the order of the phoenix's headquarters. As agreed, the Weasley twins were waiting round the corner, amazed and relief that phase one had passed without a hitch.

Speeding through the streets of London Harry felt his heartbeat quicken and nervously clenched his wand. He had of course not forgotten what had happened the last time he was here. He also remembered how he had sworn to never let his friends get hurt but here he was, once more leading them all into danger.

"Remember," Fred voice drew his attention, "keep quiet. George and I will say that we're here due to some questions about the license for our shop and you lot sneak off."

"We'll try and meet you by the department of mysteries," George continued. Harry had never heard either of them sound so serious. "If not, we'll be waiting round. Remember, any trouble and get out of there quick. Floo to headquarters; no hanging round."

"If any of use get caught," Hermione said. She was very pale. "Don't say anything; you're protected by the law to remain silent. We'll just have to wait for Dumbledore to bail us out then."

Harry didn't trust himself to speak and nodded. Ensuring the charm was still in place, they blundered into the phone box.

If Harry had not been so nervous he would have laughed at the irony as the phone box wished them a nice day at the ministry of magic. So far, Harry had been at the ministry twice and neither visits held pleasant memories. The chameleon Gryffindors slipped past security with immense ease. Too soon Harry found himself within a foot away from the fluttering black curtain.

An awkward moment settled between them, no one quite knowing what to say. "Er…." Harry said finally, "I'll see you in a bit."

"Yeah," Ron agreed in a voice which betrayed his true emotions, "in a bit." Hermione seemed unable to speak.

Nodding to his friends Harry moved so he was standing directly in front of the fluttering veil.

"Harry." Harry was startled as Ginny embraced him in a tight hug, her eyes brimming with tears. "You have to come back," she said, swallowing a sob.

"I will Ginny," Harry promised.

"Be careful," Hermione said too hugging him.

Once Harry released himself from the tearful girls, he closed his eyes in concentration, his mind thinking back to the book of time. "_Ego peto veil ut ostendo sum specialis of vices_" Harry whispered. A warm sensation filled Harry, his toes and fingers tingling as his entire body glowed a soft gold radiance. His eyes still closed, Harry hovered into the air and floated through the ancient artifact.

Harry stood in darkness, the only source of light coming from him. He could not see anything, there was no motion…no life…no light…no time. "Sirius," he called out. "Sirius, where are you?" Harry's call faded into the vast never-ending emptiness. Looking around, he suppressed a sense of panic. Where was Sirius? Had he got the spell wrong?

Harry was on the verge of running when he noticed the darkness lighten. As his vision improved, Harry notice in what he though was an empty room stood many people. Faces after faces held a haunted look of weariness and age. His heartbeat quickened still when arm reached out, "Harry…Harry…" together they chorused in a chilling whisper. Harry stepped back as they edged towards him but he was trapped. His breath hitched in his throat…closer and closer they got…mere seconds away….

"Order," someone demanded. The arms dropped, they backed a way. Harry breathed.

"Harry Potter." The amusement of the voice sent a shiver down Harry's spine. "We finally meet."

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

The voice giggled. "Oh you know who I am Harry. Yes, we know each other very well Harry."

Whether this was meant to be reassuring or not, Harry's nerves intensified, fear gripping his heart tightly. "Where's Sirius?" his voice shook slightly.

"Don't worry Harry, you'll see Sirius soon enough. We have a little matter to sort out first. You see Harry, it's not that easy."

"Wh…what's not?"

"The little book said you could just come and take your godfather did it. Just a small incantation…" the hidden person laughed. "Oh no…I'm afraid Harry your going to have to make a choice.

"Even if you and Harry manage to escape the clutches of the veil, you can return to the world with half a life. You see, once you have passed into our world, the mark of death will remain on you forever. You can go back…you will exist…don't worry…but only to yourself. Your friend will think you have failed, that you too have become trapped.

"So, my little Harry, what do you choose? Your friends? Or your godfather?"

Harry stood silently, his mind reeling from what he had just heard. He had come so close…

Two gateways emerged in front Harry. Beyond one, Harry could see the worried faces of Hermione and the Weasleys. In the other was Sirius.

Emerald green eyes flickered repeatedly between the two. What was he going to do? Not for a minute Harry had imagined that he was going to have to choose between the people he loved most in his life. His body felt as though it had been filled with ice, his heart beat painfully. He tried to think but his brain wouldn't cooperate, he couldn't breathe. Sirius or his friends?

"No," Harry whispered.

"Hurry up little Harry…"


	28. The End

**Author's Note: Last one. D**

**Chapter Thirty-Five: The End **

"Hurry up little Harry…"

"No," Harry repeated louder. "I don't want to choose. I'm not going to pick between the people I love most."

As the last word left him, an orb of bright white light appeared. Its radiance intensified, growing stronger and stronger until the darkness was flooded with the light.

"Harry," Eleanor said hurriedly, "cast the spell and go."

"Sirius…"

"Sirius will be fine. Trust me Harry. Go."

Harry lingered for a fleeting second before whispering the incantation.

The room where Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Fred and George were waiting had changed dramatically. What had been empty was now filled with soldiers at the command of an old wizard dressed in pure white snowy robes, and with him a beautiful witch too dressed in white. The teens were kneeling on the floor before the great commander, surrounded by the soldiers and their gold spears.

For quite a while they had all been waiting in silence. This was broken by a flash of gold and white light temporarily blinding them all. When they could see again, the teen's heart leapt with joy and relief. Harry had returned with Sirius and a strange girl.

Sirius expression was one of shock and surprise. Harry was of worry as he caught sight of his friends and Ellie's fear. Both Sirius and Harry rushed towards their friend, relieved to see they were unharmed. On the other hand, Ellie remained still, her deep blue eyes searching the face of her father. Her eyes filled with liquid pools as she dropped so she was kneeling before her father, the King Aether. Her head was bowed, her hair hiding her face, silver robes trailed onto the floor.

"Eleanor," the king spoke, his voice was heavy with disappointment. "You disobeyed me and broke the most important law of the guardians and protectors of time."

Ellie looked up, tears streamed silently.

"Not only that, you have endangered your people by revealing our existence. You are their Princess; it is your role to protect them. You abused your power and authority and for that you will be punished."

Harry noticed the witch besides the King pale. "Aether," she whispered. Harry was suddenly very scared for Eleanor.

"Don't mother," Ellie spoke. "I know I have done wrong and I will willingly accept my punishment. However, Father, I do not regret my actions. Harry is the savior of light and as Princess and his guardian, it is my life duty to protect him regardless of the consequences."

The expressions on King Aether soften as he regarded his daughter. "Eleanor, you have done the very thing you have been cautioned from the very beginning."

"I'm sorry Father," she wept.

"You are the crown princess of the guardians of time," his voice was filled with gently love and regret. "Eleanor, you should have known better than to let yourself fall in love with a human."

Harry gasped. The tears coursed faster still.

"Princess Eleanor," the effort to speak these words was visible. "You have been found guilty of high treason. You will be punished to the laws of the guardians. You have been sentenced to death."

"NO…" Harry shouted, the words bursting out of him. "No, she only tired to help me."

King Aether turned to look at him, "You do not understand the ways of us. You have no right to challenge the sentence."

"She's your daughter," Harry argued.

"Eleanor broke the law, she betrayed her people."

"She was only helping me, it's not her fault, she didn't do anything wrong."

"Please Aether," the queen too pleaded. "Ellie only disobeyed you out of her love for Harry."

"The fool should have never loved a human."

"Please Aether," her pleas were supported by many of the soldiers standing.

"We forgive our Princess," one said. "We beg you as our kind King to forgive the Princess." As one, they too kneeled alongside Eleanor.

Meanwhile, Eleanor was filled with a sense of guilt and gratitude. She had revealed their existence hence putting them in great danger yet they stood alongside her. "Father," she whispered, deep blue eyes meeting deep blue.

Father looked searchingly at his daughter. "Princess Eleanor has been cleared of high treason," he said finally.

A warm smile lit up her tear-stained face. "Thank you father."

Getting up, Eleanor ran over to Harry. "I'm sorry Harry," she said and kissed him.

Rushed footsteps and panicked voices reached Harry, arousing him from a deep sleep. Groggily sitting up, Harry saw that his friends were staring at each other in confusion.

"What happened?" Ron wondered aloud, rubbing his eyes.

"I don't know," Hermione answered equally confused.

Harry looked round the room, Eleanor had left and again it seemed as though he was the only one to remember.

"Harry," a slightly horsed voice called.

Harry heart stopped. "Sirius?"

Turning slowly on the spot Harry looked disbelievingly at his godfather standing before him. Harry stood frozen, afraid to make a move which might destroy the dream. "Sirius…"

Harry felt himself being swept into a warm loved-filled embrace. The emotion-filled journeys of the last 5 weeks were now simple memories as Harry buried himself in the arms of his beloved godfather. The touch of Sirius brushed aside all the tears he had cried, all the fears, and hurt he had experienced. A warm bubble of security and love enveloped him and suddenly, the prophecy and Voldemort no longer mattered. Now, Harry truly understood and felt the power of love.

A loud bang sprung them apart. In the doorway stood highly stunned and confused members of the order of phoenix including none other than Albus Dumbledore himself.

"Uh oh," Fred said glancing at his twin.

"Uh oh indeed Mr Weasley," Dumbledore repeated. "I think you all have some explaining to do."

The END

**Author's Note: **Finally, completed and just in time for Deathly Hallows. I sit here filled with both excitement and fear as the last Harry Potter book approaches. I really don't want to lose Harry and the magic and Hogwarts.

This story has been in work for the last three years and I express my deepest thanks to all those who have reviewed and read. At times, many people have doubted, myself included, whether there will ever be an ending. This story has not completely turned out the way I wanted but I am happy with the achievement that I managed to write my own Harry Potter Fanfiction. I know that regardless of what happens in the final installment from Jo, creative minds will continue to create fanfiction and I like knowing that someway or another the magic of Hogwarts will continue.

So once again, thanks for reading.


	29. Reunion

**Author's Note:** I did intended to end the story at the last chapter, but looking back, there seemed to be too many loose ends and possibilities to continue with. As to whether there is to be a sequel, I am still undecided but if so, it will a while yet. I can either continue it into Harry's sixth year or bring the marauders to the present. It all depends on whether there are readers wanting to read a sequel and how much free time I will have as I will be commencing my Advanced Level Studies in a week time at Sixth Form in a new school. So, anyway, thanks to all those who have stuck by me to the very end, sorry about the long waits in between chapters and last of all, I just want to say Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was fantastic.

**Chapter Thirty-Six: Reunion**

The return trip to Grimmauds Place was a blur to Harry, many questions asked but no one had answers to give. All Harry's friends could remember was Harry entering the Veil and returning with Sirius. Sirius, himself, did not at first even realise that over a month of time had passed since his "death". Throughout the entirety of this, Harry remained silent; Eleanor would remain a protected secret. She had defied her people and put her own life on the line to help Harry, the least he could now do was honour her people and keep their existence from knowledge. The joy of the return of his godfather was become mask with the dread of the inevitable conversation he was to have with Albus Dumbledore, who had remained behind at the ministry to smooth over the fiasco.

Of course, what Harry had forgotten was Mrs Weasley. Stepping through the front door of Number Twelve was like entering a Dragon's den with an awaiting tigress. Gratefully, it was not long before Harry's headmaster arrived and he did not stall in requesting to speak to Harry and Sirius alone.

"Harry," Dumbledore began, his voice filled with disappointment. The tight know in Harry's heart clenched; despite the secrets Dumbledore had kept from him, despite the manner he had behaved towards Harry all of last year, Harry still admired and look up the powerful wizard."You promised me you wouldn't meddle with the Veil."

Sirius looked at Harry in surprise who in return blushed and silently fixed his gaze on the carpet. Harry felt bad for defying him but he was not at all sorry for what he had done. If Harry was to be regretful regarding any of his actions in the past six weeks it would be that he never did get the opportunity to tell his parents how much he loved them or to say goodbye.

"Harry, look at me." The voice was gentle and patient but underlying it was the expectancy of obedience.

Harry obeyed and took a deep breath. "Sir, I'm sorry that I didn't keep my word but I don't regret it." Harry hesitated but decided he may as well continue, "I can't tell you what has happened Sir, I'm sorry, but I couldn't sit and wait while I knew a way to help Sirius."

With that, Harry got up and left the room.

Knock Knock.

"Harry?" Sirius voice called out.

Said godson was lying absentmindedly on his bed and rolling over onto his back called "Come in." Now that Harry had finally achieved his heart's greatest desire, he was unsure and, though he will never admit it, afraid of Sirius' reaction. Their relationship had never been sentimental and Harry regarded his godfather more as a friend than a parental figure.

Sirius entered sitting on the bed besides him, "you alright?"

"Yeah," Harry replied with a slight sigh, "I'm okay."

"You shouldn't have spoken to Dumbledore like that you know."

Harry didn't respond.

"I know you mean well Harry but I don't want you taking risks like that. You're my godson Harry, its my job to protect you, not the other way round."

Harry sat up, "But..."

Sirius cut him off. "No Harry, what happened wasn't your fault. It was Voldemort's and of course, that blasted cousin of mine," he ended with a laugh.

The guilt had been etched so deep into Harry for so long now that Sirius' reassurances tricked away from the wound lie water. "You, Hermione, everyone told me to close my mind. No, Don't. I wanted to know what Voldemort was up to." Harry paused, "I let him trick me."

"We should have told you what was going on." Sirius argued back, "Dumbledore kept you in the dark, the order agreed to it. That was unfair on you Harry."

Harry sighed. He really didn't want to continue this line of conversation. He wasn't ready, and he doubted he'll ever be, to discuss the turmoil of thoughts and emotions which coursed through him when he saw Sirius fall through the veil.

"So, what was it like in the veil?" he asked.

Sirius gave him a look as if to say he knew exactly what Harry was trying. Nevertheless, he answered. "Nothing, that was it. Coming out of the Veil was like waking up from a long sleep. Dumbledore's had to fill me in on everything these last seven weeks. And coming to that, young man, I've heard all about you're disappearing act."

Harry squirmed. He didn't want to talk about that either.

His discomfort was spotted. "Don't worry Harry," Sirius grinned suddenly. "Dumbledore had told us not to nag you about it. But Harry," he grew serious again, "If you ever need to talk, we're all here. Okay? Also, I'm sorry."

Harry blinked in surprise. "Sorry? What for?"

"Sorry for the way I treated you last year.

"You didn't do anything..."

"No, Harry, just listen. I've had a talk with everyone and they're right. I treated you as though you was James and that wasn't fair. I was bored here and I sort of used it. I'm so sorry Harry. I know you're not James and I don't want you to feel as though you have to be. I like you as Harry."

"Sirius..." Harry shut up as he was drawn into a warm hug.

It was several days later and the new school term was approaching. The teens had gathered in the kitchen for breakfast and were nervously awaiting for their school letters and in some cases, OWL results.

"Here we are," Molly Weasley came in brandishing several envelopes. Hermione was first to leap up and grabbed them and it was a flurry of chaos before the right envelope ended up in the hands of the correct recipient.

Harry opened his with a mixture of excitement and nerves. Even before Voldemort's return, Harry had set his heart on being an auror, but that meant he needed top grades in many subject. He breathed a sign of relief at what he read.

Transfiguration - E

Charms - O

Herbology - E

Defence Against the Dark Arts - O

Potions - E

Astronomy - A

Divination - P

History of Magic - D

He was slightly disappointed that the earned E would not see him through into NEWTS potions but overall, he was pleased. There had never been any chance he'd passed Divination and he had fallen asleep in History of Magic.

"Let's see," Sirius said, interrupting his thoughts.. "Wow Harry - seven OWLS and two outstandings. That's fantastic."

Euphoria spread though Harry warming him; it was the very first time Harry had someone who cared like a parent about his school grades. He was beaming as he said, "Come on, Hermione, what you get? Ron?"

"Seven and a E in Defence - thanks to you mate."

"Well done Ron," he flushed as his mother hugged him. "That's more than the twins put together."

"Herm?"

Hermione blushed slightly.

"Oh come on," Ron said whipping the parchment from her hand. "Yep, 11 OWLS, all outstanding aside from two Es in Astronomy and Defence. You're actually disappointed?" he said exasperated.

Hermione shook her head, a smile widening on her face.

"Hey," Fred shout caught their attention. "Harry's been made Quidditch Captain." Indeed, in his hand was the badge.

"Ace Harry," George said. "We figured it be you. I mean," George continued sarcastically looking at his brother, "it's not as though you were the youngest seeker in a century."

The room dissolved in laughter and amongst all his friends, it was Sirius proud gleam in his eye which caught Harry's attention. In his heart, Harry knew that James and Lily would have reacted in exactly the same way and the though warmed him. Although James and Lily were now the past, their spirit lived on, in his godfather, and, Harry could now finally see, in him.

**Author's Note: **Hope you all like that. This felt like a much more better ending then the previous one. Please review and tell me what you think. Even with a sequel, I think this is the right place to leaving Wishing Upon A Shooting Star, in the dingy kitchen celebrating. Thanks for sticking with me!


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